Nights of Blood
by Rionell
Summary: Snape keeps his deep love for Hermione a secret while he fears for her life. Once again, the students are getting attacked by a mysterious monster in the nights.
1. When the Calma Dies

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters or things that you recognise, they belong to J K Rowling, and I don't make any profit from writing this stuff.  
  
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There was not a cloud in the pitch-black sky and the stars seemed to look down upon the world from further away than usual. The thin moon shimmered like glowing, cold silver and not a sound could be heard through the night. Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry slept peacefully, every eye was shut.  
  
Except for one pair of eyes.  
  
As silently as a cloud a dark shadow moved through a corridor on the third floor. It moved very quickly, but no steps could be heard coming from it, as if it had no connection to the stone floor. One would have thought that a piece of the dark night itself had entered the school.  
  
The only proof that it was really there and alive, and not just a ghost or a memory locked inside the very walls of the castle, was the cold it brought as it headed on, and the smell of fresh blood.....  
  
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"Pass me the orange juice, Harry."  
  
The Great Hall was full of students having breakfast the next morning, filling the air with chatter and laughter while at least a hundred owls flew in through the tall windows to deliver mail.  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione were seated at the Gryffindor table as usual. Hermione was checking the day's schedule as Harry read it over her shoulder, pulling away some of her thick, brown hair.  
  
"Herbology's the first one, then Potions", he said and took another bite of his toast.  
  
Half an hour later the Gryffindor students were crossing the lawn and heading for the green house. It was a cloudy, grey day and the smell of rain hung in the air.  
  
"Good morning, class", said professor Sprout.  
  
"Good morning, professor", the students echoed.  
  
"Today", the professor continued, "we will have a look at a very unusual plant. The calma. Now, who can tell me the uses of this plant?"  
  
As always, Hermione's hand popped up above everyone's heads, like a light house in a sea.  
  
"Yes, miss Granger?"  
  
"The calma is used mainly as the most important ingredient in many sleeping draughts since it is very tranquillising. Also, calmas that are kept together have a sort of bond between them, if one dies, everyone dies."  
  
"Precisely, five points to Gryffindor. Today we will replant the school's supply of the calma, but we must be very careful, if these plants die it will take three months to grow new ones. They're in that glass box over there. Mr Longbottom, would you like to fetch the box and give everyone a plant each."  
  
Neville headed for the big glass box with the strange, very red plants and took it in his hands. He started to give everyone a plant each when it happened.  
  
Neville tripped over his too long apron. With a frightened gasp he fell forward, the glass box hit the floor and shattered.  
  
Professor Sprout dived to the floor and started investigating the plants, while Neville stuttered out excuses.  
  
"Right, they all seem to be okay. Give me a hand, will you, and pick them up.... EEEEHH!!!!"  
  
She held in her hands a plant that looked like it had been stabbed. Sharp pieces of glass were sticking out of it and it had been cut off clean from its roots. The red leaves were already dying, not just on that plant but on all the others as well.  
  
The students spent the rest of the class cleaning up the mess. When they finally went back to the castle, Ron turned to Harry and Hermione.  
  
"Did you see the look on Sprout's face? One would have thought her own children had had their heads cut off."  
  
"Yeah", Harry said. "She must really love her plants."  
  
The dungeons where professor Snape held his Potions classes were as dark and cold as ever that day. A few bats were hanging from the ceiling, sleeping.  
  
"Is it just me, or are there a few bats missing every time we come down here", Ron asked and looked at the leathery wings of one very big bat.  
  
"They've got other places to live in", Harry said. "I've seen some around, not just here."  
  
The Gryffindors, accompanied by the Slytherins, entered the class room and sat down chatting, but when the tall, dark shadow that was Severus Snape came in through the door all noise ended, as if someone had turned the sound off on everyone.  
  
"Today we will brew an exceptionally difficult potion called Dormatica. It is a sleeping draught, strong enough to kill you if not brewed correctly", he said, ignoring the look on Hermione's face as she had been ready to raise her hand.  
  
"You will find everything you need on the black board", Snape continued and waved his wand. Immediately words wrote themselves down on the black board and the students began to work.  
  
After about twenty minutes a voice was heard.  
  
"Professor, there seem to be a problem."  
  
Snape looked up from the essay he was correcting at the moment and stared right into the eyes of the girl who had spoken, a red head with a nervous look in her eyes.  
  
"What, miss Ross?"  
  
"It... It seems that these calma's leaves are dead."  
  
"Mine too", another voice said.  
  
Snape's eyes swooped over the benches. It was true, the calma's leaves that were required for the Dormatica potion all looked very lifeless and grew more dry and black by the second.  
  
Neville's face did the opposite, he was sweating and he looked as pale as a sheet.  
  
"It's my fault", Harry heard him whisper to himself. "I killed the plants."  
  
"Calm down, Neville", Harry said, then turned to look at Snape. He could hardly believe what he saw, Snape's usually pale face was now not just pale, but completely white and the black eyes had a look of pure terror in them. He was clutching a feather quill tightly in his hand and everyone could hear the sound when it eventually broke.  
  
After a few second he waved his hand to the board again. The recipe for the Dormatica potion was wiped off and replaced by another one that didn't include calma. No one asked anything, they started working on the new potion at once, a little shaken by the look on Snape's terrified face.  
  
As the students went up to Snape and left their bottles of the new potion called Sarnodia, a cure for mosquito bites, Hermione threw a look at the professor's frightened and stressed face.  
  
"Professor... Are you all right", she asked carefully.  
  
Snape turned his eyes to her, and looked at her as if he had never seen her before. Hermione took a small step back, the look in those deep, dark eyes was burning!  
  
"I'm fine, miss Granger. Get out", he hissed.  
  
Hermione put her bottle with the shocking pink, perfectly brewed potion on his desk and walked out through the door, fully aware that the Potions Master didn't take his flaming looks off her for a second.  
  
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	2. Secret Love

As Hermione shut the door to the classroom behind her, Snape got up from his chair and took all the bottles to his rooms. With the burning look of terror in his eyes he examined all the calma's leaves on the benches as he passed them, but there was no question about it: they were completely dead, which must mean that every calma in Hogwarts was dead too.  
  
"Merlin, help me", Snape whispered to himself and got into his rooms. He put down the bottles on a desk, then he went out and climbed the many stairs that led to the Headmaster's office.  
  
He knocked on the big door and was relieved when he heard the kind voice of Albus Dumbledore asking him to come in. He opened the door and looked at the old wizard dressed in midnight blue, seated behind his massive desk in the office full of strange instruments. In a chair in front of Dumbledore sat professor Sprout, looking nervously at Snape as he entered.  
  
"Headmaster... Professor Sprout....", Snape began, his voice trembling. He was sweating a little. "Something has gone.... terribly wrong."  
  
"Sit down, Severus", Dumbledore said and pointed his wand to the floor. A comfortable armchair grew out from it, like a very strange flower. Snape sat down and stared into the beard of the headmaster, too stressed to look him in the eyes. He could hear professor Sprout squirming next to him.  
  
"The calmas.... They are all dead", he said.  
  
From the sound of Dumbledore's sigh, Snape understood that he already knew.  
  
"Professor Sprout just told me so. And it means..."  
  
"Yes. It will be uncontrollable."  
  
"Severus, is there anything we, or I, can do?"  
  
"I am afraid there isn't, headmaster", Snape said, and now he raised his gaze to look at the blue, usually sparkling eyes behind the headmaster's glasses, now clouded with worry. "Without the calma's leaves I can't brew the Dormatica potion, and without it... the monster will awake."  
  
"We have to tell the other teachers right away", professor Sprout said.  
  
"Yes. And headmaster, we need more calmas, now!"  
  
"I fear that will be impossible, Severus", Dumbledore said. "Growing new calmas takes three months."  
  
"Can't we buy them from somewhere then?" Snape was slowly beginning to panic.  
  
"The calma is a very fragile plant, it can't survive journeys", professor Sprout said.  
  
"We must do something", Snape cried and stood up. "The students... Everyone will be in great danger!"  
  
Dumbledore lowered his gaze a little and looked at his own hands with their long fingers.  
  
"We will of course have to do something to protect the students", he said eventually. "I will give out new rules about bedtime, and we will have to lock the doors to their dormitories after they have gone to bed."  
  
"I'm not so sure that will be enough", Snape said and fell back into the soft armchair.  
  
"It has to. You, Severus, are the only one who can control it, using the potion. But without that... we will have to do whatever we can to survive."  
  
A few minutes of silence passed, until Dumbledore looked up at his teachers again.  
  
"Go back to your classes. I will announce the new rules at dinner. I will, of course, not tell the students the reason. It's best for all of us if they don't know, so they can't tell the rest of the world."  
  
With a shaky nod the two teachers rose and left the headmaster's office. When they came out in the corridor, professor Sprout threw one last worried look on professor Snape, then quickly ran down the stairs and back to her green house.  
  
Professor Snape made his way down the stairs through crowds of students without even throwing them his common cold looks of hatred. Not that anyone noticed, he knew the students were disgusted with everything about him, and they were only too happy if he disappeared as quickly as possible.  
  
"If only they knew how many times I've saved their lives", he thought and shut the door to his classroom behind him. He took out his wand.  
  
"Limpio."  
  
Immediately the desks were swept clean and Snape watched the dry calma's leaves disappear into thin air.  
  
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At dinner in the Great Hall, Hermione was playing around with her food, which was completely untouched. To her left and right sat Harry and Ron, stuffing their faces as if nothing unusual had happened.  
  
"What do you think happened in Potions today", Hermione asked and looked up from her plate.  
  
"Who knows", Harry said. "Maybe Snape is just so used to everything working out in his classes that he got a little shocked when something went wrong."  
  
"I'm not particularly fussed", Ron said with his mouth full of potatoes.  
  
But Hermione was. The look on Snape's face when he turned to her was as clear as a photograph in her mind. What had been in those eyes? What frightened him so?  
  
Suddenly the strong voice of Dumbledore interrupted her thoughts.  
  
"Silence, please!"  
  
The four long house tables went very quiet and all faces turned to the High Table. Dumbledore stood up and threw a swooping look at the students.  
  
"I have some new rules of security to tell you about. Starting tonight, every student will be in bed at ten o'clock instead of eleven. You have to be in your dormitories by then, because the doors will automatically lock themselves at that time, and no charms or spells will open them. These rules must be obeyed by everyone who does not wish to die a most horrible death. That is all, thank you."  
  
He sat down again. A thousand pair of eyes were still looking at him and the other teachers to get some clues about the reason for the new rules, but the faces of the High Table looked like they had been turned to stone.  
  
As the students began concentrating on their meal again and chatting about the new rules, Hermione didn't take her eyes off Snape. There was no doubt about it, he was looking directly at her, and for a moment she could swear that his stressed look of fear went away and was replaced with.... something different. She couldn't find a name for it, she did not even dare admit to herself what she saw in his deep, black raven eyes.  
  
It was sadness. Sincere, bottomless sadness.  
  
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Snape tore his eyes away from Hermione and tried to look as if he was eating.  
  
"Why?" he thought to himself. "Why her, why little miss Know-It-All?"  
  
He had admitted it to himself a few months ago. It had taken a lot of his strength to do it, but eventually he had faced the facts. He was in love. For the first time in his dark life he had fallen in love, and with the most inappropriate of all.  
  
Hermione Granger.  
  
Realising how much he admired her had hurt his pride a lot. She was his equal in so many ways, she seemed to know as much about potion making as he did, not to mention every other subject, and she was the only one of his students that didn't fear him, or hate him, but showed him respect. And lately, every time he laid eyes on her, he was stunned by her radiant, shimmering beauty. It was not the usual, feminine beauty of pretty hair or smooth skin, although she possessed those too, but it was something in her eyes that made him dream of her body, heart, mind and soul at night. Never had he ever encountered such a personality before, seen a woman smile that way or move like she did, as if she was a dancer. Her beauty glowed from within, like a shining star, and left him completely breathless. He had been very careful not to look at her too much or treat her differently from before, but in the most secret corners of his dark, lonely soul he dreamt that she would love him back one day.  
  
But of course she never could.  
  
No one loved him, the dreaded, hated, ugly Potion master. She was flawless, a light of intelligence and unequalled beauty to him. And the white, innocent dove could never love the dark raven.  
  
And now, he couldn't protect his beloved from the monster anymore....  
  
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Slowly, but surely, the night threw its shimmering veil of stars and moonlight over the castle. The darkness grew stronger by the minute and somewhere a clock struck midnight. All the students were in their dormitories. Some had of course talked about staying up just to see what was going on, but in the end no one had the guts to do it.  
  
And they were very much better off in their beds...  
  
A tall shadow moved down the corridors again, without making the slightest sound. It didn't even seem to breathe, it ran across the stone floor very quickly and took away all light and warmth as it moved on. It's two eyes were burning with hunger, it craved food.  
  
The shadow took off from the floor, and suddenly turned into mist. It flew out through a small crack in a tall window and out into the night.  
  
After a few minutes search the mist found an open window. Someone inside the room must have left it open for the night.  
  
The mist flew into the room.  
  
Four girls slept in there. The mist took form again and became the tall shadow once more. It walked up to one of the girls, a very pretty blonde, and it stretched out a deadly pale hand to her. The shadow with the flaming eyes bent down over her...  
  
After a few minutes that seemed to last forever it stood up. As silently as a cloud it walked back to the open window.  
  
Suddenly it stopped.  
  
Its eyes still burned. The shadow bent down over another girl. Her hair was brown and looked softer than silk, her skin was smooth and pure. One would have thought she was a sleeping angel.  
  
The shadow stretched out its pale hand once more, but not to the girl. It reached out through the window and caught some of the night air. Then, when it opened its long fingers, a black rose grew out of the palm.  
  
The rose fell apart, and the petals landed on the girls chest and stomach, like black snowflakes.  
  
The shadow once again turned into mist and flew out through the window, leaving behind it only cold and a smell of fresh blood.... 


	3. The First Attack

The next morning the whole school was talking about the strange attack. The girl hadn't woke up, and her room mates had carried her to the hospital wing. There had been red markings on her neck, she was as pale as Death and her hands were cold as ice.  
  
The theories about what had happened flew across the tables in the Great Hall.  
  
"Maybe she's faking it to have fun."  
  
"They're going to close the school! It's going to be like four years ago all over again!"  
  
"She has been petrified! She is a Muggle born, the monster in the Chamber of Secrets is back."  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione were talking amongst themselves at the Gryffindor table. Hermione looked a bit shaken by the attack.  
  
"Are you okay, Hermione", Harry asked and tried to make eye contact with her.  
  
"Yeah, you haven't touched your food", said Ron and pointed at her bacon.  
  
She took a deep breath and turned to them.  
  
"For the last time, I am fine. I just had a hard time falling asleep because I was wondering about the new safety rules."  
  
As if to add more strength to her words she ate a large piece of bacon, but she had problems swallowing it.  
  
She didn't really know why she didn't tell Ron and Harry the truth, something inside her told her not to. Her sleep had been perfect, she couldn't remember when she had had such a calm and peaceful night before. It was waking up that had been awful.  
  
She had been in the same room as the attacked girl, and therefor she had helped in carrying her up to madam Pomfrey.  
  
And she had woken up with black rose leaves strewn over her.  
  
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Snape felt feverish as he left breakfast to begin his classes. The attacked girl was a Gryffindor, which meant the monster had been very near Hermione. Cold shivers ran down the Potion master's spine as he thought about what would happen to her if... No, he couldn't even finish the thought.  
  
He had searched his mind for potions that could make a good substitute for the Dormatica potion, but he hadn't found anything. He was scared, annoyed and angry with the entire world, and this made him very dangerous to the students. He took away twenty points from Ravenclaw when Luna Lovegood dropped some dragon heart strings on the floor in the afternoon. All through the day he looked as if he was going to rip the head off anyone who came too close to him.  
  
Dumbledore knew about the attack, of course. He hadn't spoken to Snape all day, he had only given him a sad look.  
  
"It is a wonder indeed he hasn't fired me for being useless" Snape thought to himself as he awaited the Gryffindors in the dungeons.  
  
When Hermione entered his eyes were at once attached to her. She was as beautiful as ever, but something in her eyes didn't seem right.  
  
He wanted to enter her mind, see what she was thinking. But he couldn't do that now. Instead he put on his usual stone face and barked at the students to brew today's potion.  
  
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Later on that day Hermione went to the library. Harry and Ron were outside practising quidditch, which gave her plenty of time to do some research about the events of last night.  
  
What could come in through a door locked with spells? What left its victim cold and pale, with markings on the neck? Her first thought had been a vampire, but it didn't make sense. Vampires didn't just came out of nowhere and, contrary to most believes, they didn't come in through locked doors.  
  
She searched the tall shelves for books on monsters and magical creatures and sat down a few minutes later at a table with a huge pile of dusty, thick volumes.  
  
She opened one of them and was just about to begin reading when she was interrupted by a sound. She looked up, but the library seemed empty except for herself. Then she saw him.  
  
Snape was sitting on the floor in the restricted section, his head in his arms. His black robes were spread out on the stone floor, looking like giant wings. He sighed deeply from time to time, and it was clear that he thought himself completely alone, like Hermione had. Next to him on the floor lay a pile of books.  
  
She rose from her seat and walked over to him. This was beyond anything she could imagine about the Potion master, he seemed too strong and tough for it. She came closer, but he didn't look up, didn't even hear her steps. Eventually she sat down in front of him, took a small breath to gather courage and said:  
  
"Professor?"  
  
His head popped up and his black nighteyes looked straight into hers. They captured her completely, as if she was an animal standing in bright light.  
  
"Is everything allright?" she asked carefully.  
  
"Miss Granger...", he began, but lost his voice, just like he lost himself in the oceans of kindness that were her eyes.  
  
"No", he continued. "Everything is not allright. Everyone is in danger, and it's my fault."  
  
Again he dropped his head into his arms. Hermione knew he wasn't crying, he just seemed exhausted. A new feeling filled her heart as she looked at him. She felt sorry for Snape. All her bad memories of him melted away, she wanted nothing more than to comfort him.  
  
She stretched out her hand and put it on his head, felt his greasy, silky, black hair under her fingers. Once again his head popped up and Hermione removed her hand quickly, as if she had burned herself. But the Potion master didn't spoke or showed any signs of anger, as she had expected. Before Hermione had understood what happened he had his arms around her, Snape held her close to him, as if he would never let her go. Without knowing why, Hermione put her arms around his neck, and they sat there on the floor, holding each other, for what seemed like an eternity.  
  
Snape leaned his forehead against her shoulder and sighed once again. How had it happened? How did he put his arms around her? He didn't know, he didn't really care, all he wanted was a moment of comfort and solace. He felt so small.... This was what he wanted, to hold her in his arms, safe from harm.  
  
But all good things must come to an end. He let go of her with a very sudden movement. It wasn't a rough shove, he just pushed her away from him gently. Then he rose and left her there on the floor. He threw a look over his shoulder and she met his eyes once again. She had never seen eyes like those, and she probably never would.  
  
He left the library without a word to her. There was no need to ask her not to tell anyone, he knew she was too smart for that, and she knew he didn't have anyone to tell it to.  
  
Hermione sat on the same spot on the floor for a few minutes. What was happening to her? This was Snape, the Potion master that everyone hated and that hated everyone in return. Hermione had never liked him. He was unfair, bad tempered and sometimes even plain evil, but she had respect for him anyway. But this...  
  
Why was her heart feeling so warm at the thought of his arms around her?  
  
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When the sun started so sink towards the horizon and the sky was painted in warm colours of blue and pink, Snape was in his private rooms, holding a mirror of silver in his hands. He stared deeply into it, as if it held the answer to all his problems. He had a long, brown hair tied around his forefinger. It was one of her hairs, he had taken it from her robes without her noticing. At that time he only did it to have something from her, something that was truly hers, but then he had remembered a spell...  
  
He took the hair off his finger and placed it on the mirror.  
  
"Darem Hermione", he said and waved his wand over the mirror. At once the glass made rings on itself, as if it had been water hit with a small stone, and soon Hermione's image became clear to him.  
  
She was with Harry and Ron, of course, sitting in the Gryffindor common room by the fire place. He couldn't hear them, only see them. The two boys had big books in front of them, but they were clearly not studying. Once in a while they turned to Hermione, as if to ask her a question, but she didn't seem to hear them. She was staring into the roaring fire with a deep look in her eyes, as if she was looking at something very dear to her.  
  
He remembered the way she had responded to his embrace. He had never felt anything like it, not ever. The feeling that somebody might care for him.  
  
He woke up from his reveries. Her lips had moved, but not to Harry or Ron. He had managed to read the word on her lips, those soft, silky lips, and his heart seemed to miss a beat.  
  
It was his name she had spoken.  
  
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Hermione watched Snape in his rooms, looking into a mirror. She had heard about mirror spells, they could be used to see or communicate with people who were far away. He was probably talking to Dumbledore.  
  
She was doing something similar. She had thrown a pinch of Floo powder into the Common room fire and whispered 'The Potion master's rooms'. He didn't know she was watching him.  
  
"Poor Snape", she thought. "He has done so much for the Order, but never got anything in return."  
  
He hadn't left her mind for a second since the embrace in the library. When she closed her eyes she could still feel his arms around her, so strong and safe. Seeing the attacked girl in her dormitory that morning had scared her well, and she was worried about her friends.  
  
He looked so tired. She wanted to be there with him, talk to him.... hold him once again.  
  
After an hour or so, she, Harry and Ron left the Common room and went to their dormitories for the night. At exactly ten o'clock, all the dormitory doors in Hogwarts lightened up for a few seconds and locked themselves.  
  
The pale moon grew stronger outside... and a dark shadow soared through the corridors. 


	4. In Hagrid's Hut

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you, thank you all for the wonderful reviews. Not much happens in this chapter, but I'll write more really soon. Also, I have put out quotation marks now =) Enjoy.  
  
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The days passed very quickly for the students at Hogwarts. September left the stage and made way for a very foggy October with grey skies and heavy clouds. By this time, going to bed in the nights had become like gambling, you could never be sure you would wake up. Three girls and two boys had been found pale and cold in their beds, barely breathing, with the glowing red marks on their necks. Their room mates had carried them up to Madam Pomfrey on trembling legs, knowing that the monster had been in the very same room as they had.  
  
Every student was convinced that the monster behind it all was a vampire. What else attacked the neck of its victim? Harry and Ron had also suspected a vampire at first, but Hermione had told them that it couldn't be like that.  
  
"A vampire can't get in through doors locked with spells", she said, as if reading aloud from a book. "They can't fly, so open windows wouldn't work, and don't you think it would be pretty hard for a vampire to hide in a castle ruled by the mightiest wizard of our time? Dumbledore wouldn't let that sort of thing happen."  
  
"Okay then, what sort of thing is it?", Harry asked on their way to Transfiguration.  
  
"I don't know. I have been searching the library, but I can't find anything."  
  
Ron looked pale. He had realised something a few days ago.  
  
"What if someone dies? They might have to close the school."  
  
"No one has died yet", Harry said. "Didn't you hear Dumbledore this morning? The attacked ones are recovering, they woke up from that deep sleep a few days ago."  
  
Hermione opened her mouth as if to say something, but the words got stuck in her throat. She had seen Snape turn around a corner with his black robes billowing behind him.  
  
She was still looking after him as they entered the open door to Professor McGonagall's class. She wondered how he was doing.  
  
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One day Harry, Ron and Hermione were all seated at the Gryffindor table having lunch when Hedwig came swooping down to them. She landed on Harry's outstretched arm with a dirty envelope in her beak.  
  
"Thanks.", he said and gave her a fistful of cereal to eat.  
  
"What's that?" Hermione asked and looked at the envelope. Harry opened it.  
  
"It's from Hagrid. He wonders if we could come down and see him before next class."  
  
"Let's go right now." Ron rose and took his heavy bag, followed by the other two. They left the Great Hall behind them and went out.  
  
It was a very foggy day and Hagrid's hut was almost impossible to see from the castle and the usually so dark and enchanting trees of the Forbidden forest behind it now looked like fourteen feet tall ghosts. Harry, Ron and Hermione crossed the damp lawn and knocked on the wooden door. They were answered immediately by barking.  
  
"Down, Fang, down!", Hagrid's voice commanded as he opened the door and greeted them with his sparkling eyes. His hair and beard were as bushy as always, almost completely hiding his face.  
  
"Hi Hagrid."  
  
"Hi to you too. Glad yeh could come", he said and invited them in. "I've jus' boiled meself some tea, if ya'd like a cup."  
  
The three students sat down on a sunken down sofa and Hagrid took his usual seat in his oversized armchair. Fang lay down by his enormous feet, looking sleepy.  
  
"How's everything goin' for yeh?" Hagrid asked and poured them some tea.  
  
"We're fine", Harry said. "Just a bit confused."  
  
"Confused? Abou' wha'?"  
  
Suddenly Hermione's face lightened up with a smile, as if she'd had a wonderful idea.  
  
"Hagrid! You know everything about magical creatures, and you're a Hogwarts teacher. You must know what it is that attacks the students."  
  
Hagrid's big hand trembled slightly as he put his tea cup down.  
  
"Sorry, 'ermione, I dunno anythin' about it", he said, avoiding her eyes.  
  
"Yes, you do", Ron insisted. His curiosity had woken up too. "You must know."  
  
"Let's not talk abou' that, lads, I dunno anythin' anyway", Hagrid said hastily and rose from his chair. He walked up to a cupboard and opened it. He threw a glittering look at Hermione over his shoulder.  
  
"I got somethin' for yeh, my lass."  
  
He took out a long, thin parcel wrapped up in brown paper. He held it out to a surprised-looking Hermione.  
  
"'Appy birthday", he said and his eyes were smiling, as if he couldn't wait for her to open her present.  
  
Harry and Ron looked at each other and blushed a little. Hermione exhaled with a smile. With the new term starting and the attacks, she had completely forgotten about her own birthday. She took the present from Hagrid's massive hands and unwrapped it.  
  
He had given her something that looked like a very rare sea shell. It was two feet long and twisted, and it shimmered in silver and pure white. Harry didn't have an idea what it was, but he knew it must be something special since Ron and Hermione stared at it with their eyes wide open.  
  
"Wow, Hagrid!", Ron said. "Those are expensive."  
  
"Not ter me, they ain't", Hagrid replied, beaming with pride. "I bought it from a mate o' mine."  
  
"What is it?", Harry asked and touched the gift. It felt like it was built out of fingernails and stone.  
  
"It's the horn of a unicorn." Hermione said and stroked the smooth surface. "Oh Hagrid, thank you! It's so beautiful."  
  
"You're welcome, luv", he said and sat down again.  
  
After half an hour of more tea and chatting, Harry, Ron and Hermione left the hut to walk back to the castle. It wasn't until a few hours later that Hermione understood that Hagrid had deliberately avoided talking about the monster.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
Professor Binns' classes in Magical History were fascinating. "He must be the only person in the world who can make wild, bloody, horrible wars and battles sound like the most boring thing in the world.", Ron yawned and fell half-asleep. He wasn't the only one, everyone in the class room looked like they had been drugged, but the ghost-professor in front of them didn't seem to notice at all.  
  
Even Hermione, who was always eager to learn, felt her brain yawn inside her head. Binns' voice seemed to come from very far away and her thoughts strayed off to more interesting things.  
  
She tried to remember the uses of unicorn horns, just out of curiosity. She thought she had heard somewhere that they were good for healing.  
  
She thought about the way it shimmered and glittered in her hand, like an icicle of stars.  
  
Then she thought about the captivating, raven black December nights that were Snape's eyes.  
  
She, and the rest of her class mates, were abruptly woken up by the sound of the bell ringing to end the class. Stretching and yawning, the Gryffindors left their seats and slowly headed out through the door.  
  
"What was that class about?", Harry asked Hermione, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"The great war of independence between Scottish and English wizards in the thirteenth century."  
  
"Nothing important, then.", Ron said and gave them a tired smile as they went through the door behind the Fat Lady and into the Gryffindor Common room to relax.  
  
At the same time a bunch of Hufflepuff-students came up from their Potions class down in the dungeons.  
  
"Was it just me, or were there like a hundred more bats than usual down there?"  
  
"It's just Snape, he attracts the females."  
  
The girls laughed and walked off, unaware that the Potions master had heard them.  
  
"Ten points from Hufflepuff.", he muttered under his breath and closed the door behind the students.  
  
He sat down by his desk and started to correct the third year Slytherins essays.  
  
"Hermione would never say something like that.", he thought to himself. He had only seen her once today, on her way to Transfiguration. He had been out in the green house, checking on the new calmas that had been planted a few days after the death of the old ones. They were only sprouts so far, not anywhere near big enough.  
  
Every time a new victim was taken to the Hospital wing, Snape wanted to cut his own head off. But the monster was very pleased, human blood was so much better....  
  
"Hermione...", Snape whispered to himself, his voice filled with love and longing. He wished he could send her something for her birthday, which he knew was that day.  
  
He rose from his desk and went to his private rooms, where he picked something up, wrapped it and gave it to his black owl Orion. Then he sent it out through one of the tall, Gothic windows, to the Gryffindor tower. 


	5. Alone in the Dark

Hermione was sitting on her bed, looking out through the window in her room. Her remaining two room mates threw worried looks at the still empty bed where their blonde friend had slept a few weeks ago.  
  
"I haven't been this afraid of the dark since I was a child", one of them said, a short redhead called Melissa Strauss. "Going to bed has been scary since Tanya was attacked."  
  
"But the doors are magically locked, Melly, even the Fat Lady will be locked.", Hermione said in a comforting, gentle voice. "Nothing can get either in or out, and this time we'll keep the window closed, so we... Look!"  
  
Hermione pointed out through the window. The girls drew closer and looked out. The pale moon was now hidden behind thick, black clouds, the rain was pouring down and they could hear thunder in the distance. After a few seconds, they too saw what Hermione was pointing at. A black spot was coming right towards them.  
  
"It's an owl.", the other girl, Amanda Higgs, said. "Are any of you expecting something?"  
  
"No.", Hermione and Melissa both answered, and Hermione opened the tall window to let the black owl in.  
  
It landed on Hermiones bed and shook its head and wings to get rid of some rain. It was a very handsome owl, with big blue eyes that now looked at the three girls, as if trying to find out which one of them its luggage belonged to.  
  
"Hermione, it's for you.", Melissa said and untied the thin rope that kept the parcel to the owls leg. Hermione held out some owl sweets to the black animal, which ate them from her hand. She took the parcel and looked at it from every way.  
  
"Open it, we want to see.", the others begged enthusiastically and sat down on Hermiones bed. The owl spread his wings and left the room through the open window. Amanda shut it.  
  
Hermione unwrapped the mysterious parcel. Inside was a flower in a pot made out of clay. It was a strange flower indeed. Its petals were closed, like a brown and grey ball, and it had no leaves on the stem. It was in all a very ugly flower.  
  
"What is this thing?", Hermione asked and looked at the others.  
  
"No idea.", they said and stared at the brown and grey plant. "Who sent it?"  
  
Hermione searched through the brown paper it had been wrapped in, but she found nothing, not even a tiny note.  
  
"Must be some kind of birthday present.", she mumbled, more to herself than to the others. She didn't like the ugly thing at all, but she didn't want to hurt the feelings of whoever had sent it, so she put it on the window sill next to her bed.  
  
"I can look it up in the library later on", she thought.  
  
Melissa and Amanda smiled.  
  
"Freaky way for a bloke to show his love, isn't it?", they said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, we don't know who it's from, but it's a ... sort of flower, and it's sent by someone anonymous. Conclusion: it's from a guy."  
  
"Oh, grow up."  
  
The girls continued chatting for a while before getting to bed. Just like the nights before, the door to their room lightened up for a few seconds, like a lamp, and was thereby locked for the night. Hermione put on her white night gown and crept down under her cover. She didn't pull the curtains, she had always loved staying up watching a thunder storm.  
  
The lightning now ran over the sky like long, thin fingers of silver and light. The roaring thunder and the rain played their strong, yet gentle lullaby to the girls and soon they were all sleeping.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
One more week passed without any more attacks. The five students had left the hospital wing at this time, but there was no use in asking them questions. They had all been sleeping heavily when the monster got to them, and couldn't remember anything. They were now a bit shaken by the experience, but otherwise they seemed completely healthy.  
  
Hermione was in the library one evening. Once again the rain drops fell hard on the tall windows and thunder was rolling among the thick, dark clouds outside. It was a very beautiful storm, but Hermione paid little attention to it. She held a large pile of dusty, old books in her arms and carefully made her way to a table where she could sit down and study them.  
  
She was still trying to find out what sort of creature the school was dealing with. Also, she wanted to find out what kind of flower it was that was on her window sill. Its petals still hadn't opened a single bit, although she gave it plenty of water and made sure it got as much sunlight as it could in those cloudy days.  
  
The pile of books she had searched through grew larger and larger to her left side, but Hermione showed no sign of getting tired. She was leaning over "One Thousand Magical Plants" by Corrianda Fleet, not knowing that somebody was watching her.  
  
Snape hadn't been in the library for long. He was standing behind a huge book shelf, looking through "Potions of Power" by Allano Rico, to find a good, complicated potion he could make the Ravenclaw seventh-years do for him on the next day. But all his attention had been fixed on Hermione for quite a while now.  
  
"She is remarkable.", he thought and read the titles of the book pile next to her.  
  
It had been a month since their silent embrace, but he hadn't forgotten a second of it. He didn't sleep during the nights anymore, and when the moonlight shone in through the windows in his rooms he remembered her kind eyes and her arms around him. During Hermiones potion classes he had hardly said a word to her, not even called her a 'silly girl' as usual, he had only displayed a perfect coolness. And it hurt, for he wanted to talk to her, or at least be close to her somehow. When he had seen her with all those thick books in her arms he had thought about making her drop them with a spell so he could help her pick them up, but he had quickly forsaken the idea.  
  
He sighed to himself. There was no hope for him. He could never be with her...  
  
He found a suitable potion and put the book back on the shelf. Without making a sound he left the library and Hermione behind him and went down to his dark, lonely dungeons.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
Hermione was captured by the book and read almost every page. This time it was "What Muggles Think Are Merely Fairy Tale Creatures" by Ari Killroy. She was reading about trolls when a thought struck her, like a hammer to the head.  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
Lightning crossed the sky and a great roar of thunder was heard as Hermione looked at the clock.  
  
She gasped, her face suddenly white as chalk.  
  
She dropped the big book on the floor, grabbed her bag and ran out of the library. She ran as fast as she could through empty corridors and halls as the thunder and the rain kept raging outside the windows. She saw no other person, everyone was already in their dormitories and the castle was as dark as a tomb. Breathing heavily she ran up and down a hundred stairs, all her thoughts set on the Gryffindor tower, chased by the storm outside.  
  
She saw the portrait of the Fat Lady and felt a small ray of hope shine inside her. She would make it...  
  
"Stellarica!", she shouted to the painting, but the password seemed useless. The Fat Lady didn't open.  
  
"Stellarica.", she repeated, but the door to Gryffindor tower was closed.  
  
Hermione was beginning to panic.  
  
"Stellarica?", she said with tears of fear in her eyes. The word was barely more than a trembling whisper.  
  
The Fat Lady did not move, magically locked as she was.  
  
Hermione checked her watch. It was five past ten.  
  
She was locked out for the night.  
  
She didn't dare to move. She just stood there, all alone in the dark corridor, so close to safety and yet so far. She held her breath, listening hard for any sounds. When lightning threw itself over the sky and illuminated the darkness she bit her tongue to keep herself from screaming.  
  
She was sure she had seen a tall shadow move around a corner....  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
It loved the storm. Its every sense was filled with the sound of the furious weather outside the tall, Gothic windows and it savoured it, inhaled it almost.  
  
"Blood. I need blood."  
  
The shadow smiled, and its fangs glimmered in the lightning.  
  
"Slytherin", it thought. "Blood that boils with jealousy, hate and evil always tastes best. It's got so much more life in it."  
  
And, without making so much as the slightest sound, it headed downstairs to the Slytherin dungeons.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
Hermione sobbed silently, and her breathing was out of control. She was all alone, with no one to help her, and a monster was lurking somewhere in the dark castle. The storm outside was suddenly not so beautiful anymore, only evil and furious.  
  
In her mind she searched desperately for a place to run, somewhere where she could be safe. Anywhere...  
  
"Snape!", she thought. "He's a teacher. He can help me!"  
  
She started walking as silently as she could down the corridor. Her eyes worked hard to see through the complete darkness that followed the lightning. More than anything in the world she wanted to take out her wand and say "Lumos", but she did not dare.  
  
Slowly but surely, she came closer to the dungeons.  
  
"Oh gods, please let him be awake!" 


	6. Midnight Conversation

Hermione tried not to breath too loudly as she came closer to the Potions master's dungeons. She had left the lightning behind her, only darkness and the roaring thunder ruled down there. She held her hands out in front of her, and finally she found the heavy door she was looking for.  
  
Once again she listened carefully for any sound, then she knocked on the door.  
  
The seconds passed. What if he wasn't awake? What if he couldn't hear her? She raised her fist to knock again, when the door suddenly opened.  
  
There he was, a dark silhouette in front of her, his eyes gleaming in the darkness.  
  
"Professor", she said and felt her heart soar with relief. "It's me, Hermione Granger. I'm so sorry to disturb you..."  
  
"Why are you not in bed, miss Granger?", he asked.  
  
"Please sir, let me in. I'm locked out."  
  
Snape looked at her, not entirely sure it was all a dream. He heard fear in her voice and stepped aside.  
  
"Come in.", he said. She exhaled and walked pass him. He shut the door behind them, took her by the arm and led her through the classroom to another door in the back.  
  
He opened it and they entered his private rooms. There was a fire burning in the fire place and Hermione closed her eyes when the light struck her.  
  
Snape let go of her arm and took a seat in an armchair. She sat down in front of the fire and began to relax. She was safe.  
  
"How did this happen?", Snape asked her.  
  
"I was in the library, sir... and I lost track of time."  
  
"So you decided to come down here, all the way from the Gryffindor tower? Why didn't you go to the Headmaster, or professor McGonagall?"  
  
"I... don't know, sir.", she said, realising those would be much more obvious choices for her.  
  
"Do you know how dangerous it is for a student to be up alone these nights?", he asked in his silky voice. "You cannot afford to loose track of time."  
  
Hermione looked up at him, and after a minute of silence she asked:  
  
"Professor... What is the monster?"  
  
He didn't show with the slightest movement that her question had disturbed him, but inside he was looking for words to say. What could he tell her? He wanted to tell her the truth...  
  
"It is something that I don't believe your friend mr Potter will take care of so easily.", he said. "It is a deadly creature... Human yet not human."  
  
"But, please, what is it?"  
  
"As a student I think it's for the better that you don't know, miss Granger. But those words are surely a waste of breath, you always need to know everything, don't you? Have you checked the library yet?"  
  
"I did this evening, but I haven't found anything.", she replied, ignoring the cold words he had spoken. Snape smiled within himself, he had always admired her courage when it came to himself.  
  
"Miss Granger... Why do you study so hard? You certainly haven't got it from your friends Potter and Weasley."  
  
She turned away from him and looked into the fire. She watched the flames dance for her as she wondered if she could tell him or not. But the relief she felt took away all her fear for the dreaded Potions master, and she began to tell him her secret.  
  
"Professor... I assume you know of my heritage. My parents are Muggles, and I didn't know anything about this world until I received my letter five years ago. And when I saw it all, when I came here, it changed me completely. I saw things I had never even dreamt of before, and all I wanted was to learn about it, to know everything there was to know. This world is so different from the Muggle world."  
  
"How so?", he asked, now fascinated by her voice. He himself was a Pureblood wizard and had therefor never had any contact with Muggles or their way of living.  
  
"The magic is long gone to Muggles. It died, I don't know when, but it has disappeared. What they don't realise is how much they really long for magic, how much they need it. I needed it, and when I found it I wanted it all."  
  
"And you will have it, if you keep up your work like this."  
  
Hermione blushed a little and turned her face towards Snape again.  
  
"I'm sorry if I sounded silly.", she said.  
  
"Not at all, miss Granger.", he replied, and the coolness in his voice had gone away. Now it was only gentle, like a silk glove that caressed her soul.  
  
"Professor Snape...", she began.  
  
"Miss Granger, you have come to my room in the middle of the night, and you will be staying here until the morning. I believe you can call me by my first name for now."  
  
She hesitated for a few seconds.  
  
"Severus" she said, and he felt his heart skip a beat by the sound of her sweet voice saying his name. "May I stay here for the night? I will be completely quiet, I can sleep here on the floor."  
  
"Stay with me always", he thought.  
  
"No worries, miss Granger..."  
  
"Hermiione."  
  
"Hermione... I will be off to bed now."  
  
He rose, took out his wand and pointed it at the armchair he had been sitting in.  
  
"Cambiare", he said, and the armchair changed into a comfortable sofa.  
  
"You can sleep there." He turned away and opened the curtains to his own four poster bed and disappeared behind them.  
  
Hermione rose from the floor and laid herself down on the sofa, which was very nice indeed.  
  
"Good night, professor.... Severus.", she said.  
  
He did not answer, and soon she fell asleep.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
He couldn't sleep. He twisted and turned among the sheets, but he found no peace. The thunder had died off, and all he heard was the lovely sound of her breathing. He knew she slept peacefully.  
  
She must've been so afraid when she was locked out. And yet she had gone all the way through the dark castle, from top to bottom, knowing it was terribly dangerous, just to come to him. Why?  
  
His love was sleeping in the same room as he. She had come there on her own account, she could have gone to any other teacher for help. Could it be possible? Could she love him in return?  
  
Snape pushed the thought away. It was insane, she would never feel the way about him as he felt for her. He was her teacher! But love knows no age....  
  
He sat up in his bed. He would risk it, it was worth it. She would never know... He opened the black curtains and stepped out of the bed. The room was very dark, but he could see her clearly, sleeping in the weak light that came in through the only window there was. He bent down next to her and carefully lifted her up in his strong arms, as if she was made out of thin crystal. She moaned a little, but she didn't wake up.  
  
He carried her to his bed and gently put her down. Then he lay down next to her and touched a lock of her soft hair. He would never have this chance again, just for one night he wanted to lie next to the one he loved, and pretend... that she was his.  
  
For hours he stayed awake, looking at her and softly caressing her hair.  
  
"Good night, Hermione.", he whispered. "Don't worry, I will always protect you. I swear."  
  
He reached for his wand that was lying on a table next to the bed and pointed it at himself.  
  
"Levanta antes", he whispered. The spell would make sure he woke up a few minutes before Hermione, so he could put himself on the sofa. She would believe he had switched places with her during the night, and that would be all.  
  
He turned his eyes towards her again, and soon he too fell asleep.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
Hermione was walking through the dark school again, and somewhere behind her she heard foot steps.  
  
It was the monster chasing her. She knew it without looking behind her. It breathed down her neck, she could feel the chill it brought with it. She wanted to run, but her feet felt like they had been enchanted, and all she could do was keep on walking.  
  
The monster was coming closer. Then, a few feet in front of her, she saw a light, and a voice that whispered:  
  
"Don't worry, I will always protect you..."  
  
She loved the voice. She wanted to have it circling around her, keeping her safe. She stretched out her hand to the light.  
  
And suddenly she was in his arms again. The monster disappeared, and he held her close, stroking her hair.  
  
"It's allright, my love," he whispered. "I will never leave you, I promise."  
  
She looked up at his face, and saw immortal love shine in his eyes.  
  
"Severus.", she said. They kissed...  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
She woke up and looked around. Where was she? Was she still in Snapes rooms?  
  
She was lying on his bed... How did she end up there?  
  
She opened the curtains and looked out. Snape was sleeping on the sofa. She remembered the dream and knew that he must've carried her to his bed and then put himself on the sofa.  
  
Maybe there was a gentleman inside Snape after all...  
  
Hermione stepped out of the bed and walked up to the sofa. She checked he was sleeping, then she bent down and touched his cheek.  
  
"Thank you.", she whispered. Then she opened the door and left his room, unaware that he was awake - and that they had shared the same dream that night. 


	7. The Halloween Dance

That morning the Great Hall was once again buzzing like a bee hive. Another student had been attacked, this time it was a Slytherin boy. The faces of the Slytherin table looked worried, last time a monster had been in the school it had practically been on their side. Now no one could feel safe.  
  
Hermione went in through the heavy doors and searched the Gryffindor table for Harry and Ron. When she had spotted them she sat down between them.  
  
"Good morning", she said with a smile and put some marmalade on a piece of toast.  
  
The boys heads shot up from their breakfast, looking at her as if she was a priceless treasure.  
  
"Oh thank Merlin, you're alive!", Ron said and almost hugged her.  
  
"Where were you? Melissa told us you didn't come back to your room last night."  
  
"I got locked out", Hermione answered. "I've been sleeping in the.. Headmasters office."  
  
"You should've seen the looks on the girls faces when they told us, they were nearly scared stiff.", Ron said, still staring at Hermione as if making sure she was really there. "Did you see the monster?"  
  
A small memory flashed before Hermione's eyes. The tall shadow she had seen pass... Could it have been the monster, so close to her? A cold shiver ran down her spine and she drank some milk to calm herself.  
  
She threw a look at the Head Table. Snape wasn't in his seat, he hadn't come up from the dungeons yet.  
  
When Hermione had left his rooms and closed the door quietly behind her not to wake him up she had felt confused. He had kissed her. It had been a dream, yes, but it had felt so real. What did this mean? What was this new feeling inside of her?  
  
It didn't took her many steps up the stairs to understand, and the discovery almost made her gasp out loud.  
  
She was falling in love with Snape.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
The day passed like another dream for Hermione, and she felt more and more like she was floating across the stone floor of Hogwarts. In Potions that day she couldn't take her eyes of Snape as he walked among the desks, pointing out the students mistakes. Why had she never seen it before? The way he walked, his silky voice, the look in his black winter night eyes, everything about him suddenly seemed so attractive.  
  
Once he asked a question, and he tried to shoot a look at her, as if daring her to raise her hand. But when his eyes met hers the words failed him, and he stood there with his mouth open for a few seconds. He felt his knees shake as her deep, intelligent eyes captured his soul and tied him to her more and more. He had to fight himself to keep up his bitter appearance in front of the other students.  
  
He thought about the night before. A Slytherin had been attacked, and she had been down there. She had been so close.... Never again, he would make sure of that.  
  
"Longbottom! Is this what you call scarlet red?", he asked and pointed at the ink black mud in poor Nevilles cauldron. "Five points from Gryffindor for not paying attention in class."  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
Halloween came to Hogwarts one week later, and with it it brought a dance. It had been professor Dumbledore's idea, to 'try and spread some joy through these times.'  
  
The Great Hall had been nicely decorated. The four long tables were put aside to create a dance floor big enough for four teams to play football on, pumpkin lanterns with grinning faces spread their light, soaring twelve feet above the floor, black paper bats flew back and forth and every half hour the room was filled with a thick, spooky fog. The enchanted ceiling reflected only darkness, there were no moon nor stars on the sky that night.  
  
The students came in through the doors like a tidal wave of chatting people. The girls wore dresses that shimmered in the light of hundreds of candles and their jewellery sparkled like stars. The boys were mostly dressed in black and white, only a few blue shirts and Muggle jeans could be seen.  
  
Harry came arm in arm with Ginny who looked very pretty indeed. Hermione had asked Ron to go with her. She didn't want to dance with any other than Snape, but Ron was just a friend, so that wouldn't count.  
  
She hoped Snape would be there. She knew a dance wasn't a place where you would most likely find the Hogwarts Potions master, but as a teacher he had to at least make an appearance.  
  
Finally she spotted him.  
  
He stood leaned against a wall with his arms crossed, dressed in his ordinary black robes, watching the dancing couples. Hermione almost forgot she was dancing with Ron and stepped on his toes seven times before the song ended.  
  
"Sorry, Ron", she said.  
  
"No worries", he said, but the pain reflected itself in his face. "I'm going out for some air, it's hot in here."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Ron left the dance floor and made his way through the crowd towards the doors. Hermione turned to look at Snape again. He hadn't moved a muscle.  
  
She didn't hesitate for a second. She took a breath of courage and headed towards him.  
  
Snape couldn't take his eyes off her. She was beautiful in her school clothes, but now she was much more. She had the grace of a queen in that dress she wore, and her hair fell softly on her naked shoulder from the high pony tail. She looked absolutely radiant.  
  
She stopped right in front of him.  
  
"Professor... May I have this dance?"  
  
The music started to play. It was a slow song, and a woman's voice started singing. Snape looked at Hermione, hardly able to speak a word.  
  
"I'd be honoured to, miss Granger."  
  
She smiled and took his hand. As she lead him out on the dance floor she saw a few heads turn to stare at them, but neither she nor Snape cared. They found an empty spot.  
  
She took his hand in hers. She had almost thought it would be cold since it was so pale, but the skin was smooth and warm against the palm of her own hand. He put his arm around her waist, she put hers around his neck, and they started to dance.  
  
Hermione noticed at once he was not an excellent dancer, but he wasn't bad. It didn't bother her, she was no expert on it either. Still it was the most wonderful dance of her life, because it was with him. The love inside her heart filled her so completely that she was surprised he didn't seem to notice.  
  
"I want to tell him so much", she thought and looked up at his face. He looked back at her.  
  
"I'm sorry I'm not the best dancer here.", he said.  
  
"Don't worry, professor. You haven't stepped on my toes yet."  
  
"Step on her toes?", he thought. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea anyway, I wouldn't forgive myself if I did."  
  
Not much more was said during the song. Snape listened to the words of it, the woman sang of true love that survives everything, and he wanted to repeat it all to Hermione. She was there, in his arms once again, mesmerising him with her glittering eyes. He never wanted it to end, still he wanted it to, for he was not sure he would be able to keep himself from bending down and kiss her, just like he had done in the dream. His heart yearned for it, its pounding voice shouted and whispered in his ears.  
  
"I love her!"  
  
The song ended and they slowly let go of each other. They both exhaled a little.  
  
"Thank you for the dance, professor.", she said.  
  
"And to you, miss Granger."  
  
"Hermione, sir. Just for now."  
  
"Hermione... Thank you."  
  
He backed a few steps before he turned around and disappeared from her sight among the other people. Hermione looked at him for a few seconds, then she saw Ron who had come back inside and started walking towards him.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
The monster was hungry again. It had been a week since its last meal, it craved food!  
  
"Give me blood", it whispered. "Do it!"  
  
It felt a pair of eyes on its back and turned around. It was the Headmaster. The old man didn't say anything, he only looked at it with eyes that seemed to express many feelings. But the greatest of them all was compassion.  
  
The monster turned away from the old man. Its hunger was shredding it to pieces, it had to do something! Lately it needed food more often, it seemed.  
  
Suddenly the Great Hall was filled with the mysterious fog. It was hard to make anyone out in it, and the monster heard some students calling each others names.  
  
"Nothing else matters", it thought. It stretched out its hand and grabbed an arm.  
  
Then a horrible scream was heard. It pierced the warm air in the Great Hall like an icy dagger and it made everyone shiver. It was answered by more screams from frightened girls. What was happening? Who was that?  
  
Slowly the fog died off and the girls ran to their boyfriends as soon as they could see them again. Ron, Ginny and Harry found each other and looked around.  
  
"What the heck happened?", Ginny asked and held Harry's hand in a tight grip.  
  
"That was scary", Ron said. "Wait here, I'll get Hermione."  
  
He began his search for her among the frightened students. The music had stopped.  
  
Harry and Ginny waited for a little while, when Ron suddenly returned. Alone, looking as pale as a sheet.  
  
"Did you find her?", Harry asked.  
  
Ron managed to gain a little control over his own voice.  
  
"She's... gone." 


	8. Back In Hagrid's Hut

The students looked at each other with fear in their eyes. Who had screamed? What was happening?  
  
Professor Dumbledore stood up by his seat at the High Table.  
  
"Your attention, please!", he said, and everyone turned their eyes towards him, hoping for him to give them answers.  
  
"Prefects, follow the students back to the houses. This party is over. Good night to you all."  
  
He walked out followed by the other teachers, and the prefects started to lead the confused and frightened students out through the doors.  
  
"But Hermione...", Ron began.  
  
"I know, Ron" Harry said. "But maybe it wasn't her after all. Perhaps you just missed her?"  
  
"I didn't, I looked carefully at everyone I passed. We have to help her!"  
  
"We will" Harry said. "We will."  
  
They got back to the Gryffindor tower with everyone else. No one complained about the interrupted party, everyone was too worried. It must have been the monster, and it had taken someone! Everyone went into their dormitories, and half an hour later the doors lightened up and locked themselves.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
Dumbledore and the teachers sat in the Headmasters office, discussing.  
  
The Headmaster sighed deeply and looked down. Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout and Hagrid looked at his old face, as if hoping he would smile like he used to and come up with a brilliant plan.  
  
"It seems we only have one choice", he said.  
  
"What, Headmaster?", professor Flitwick asked.  
  
"Things have gone out of control. I think.... Death is the only solution."  
  
Professor Sprout gasped.  
  
"Are you sure there is no other way? The calmas will be ready in a month..."  
  
"I am sorry" Dumbledore said. "This is worse than I ever dreamt it would be. The monster must die."  
  
"But Headmaster..."  
  
Professor McGonagall stopped talking. She knew he was right, there was no other way.  
  
"Go back to your rooms for the night, my friends" he said, and they left their armchairs that sank down into the floor. None of them seemed to notice that professor Snape wasn't there...  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
The tall shadow held its prisoner close as it glided over the floor. From the dress it felt, it knew that it had seized a girl by the arm. She had screamed so loudly... The others had always been asleep and silent, but tonight the monster couldn't wait for the students to go to bed, it needed food now.  
  
The shadow with the girl in its arms stopped in a dark, windowless corridor. The girl had fainted with fear, and the monster brushed her hair away from the warm neck where her blood ran hot.  
  
It bent down over her, put its lips to her smooth skin and pierced it with its fangs. The girl's pulse yelled in its ears, like a loud, violent drum, and the sound made the monster more excited. It drank and drank until the girl was almost dead before it tore itself away from her, gasping for air.  
  
So good... So wonderful....  
  
Better than any other blood it had ever tasted....  
  
The shadow licked its lips and felt the girl's strength shoot through its limbs. Now all it had to do was to put her in a place where they were sure to find her the next morning. The Entrance Hall was a good idea.  
  
It gathered the girl up in its strong arms and started gliding over the floor again. It left the corridor, crossed a hall and into another corridor. The night was very black, but the monster's eyes were use to see in the dark and it had no troubles at all in finding its way around.  
  
Curiosity gripped it. What did this girl look like...? It stopped and lowered its eyes to glance at her.  
  
She had thick, brown hair. It knew that hair. But from where?  
  
It brushed it aside and looked at the girl's face.  
  
"No! Not her!"  
  
But it was her. The two red, bleeding markings on her throat shimmered at it, like red eyes, and the monster held her close to its chest again, sobbing.  
  
Then it gave a great roar of sorrow and regret that echoed through the castle...  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
The Great Hall was a very quiet place the next morning. Hermiones room mates had told the other Gryffindors about how she hadn't come to their dormitory the last night and everyone decided to look out for her.  
  
A student had been taken by the monster... Harry saw the fear in everyone's eyes. They wanted to leave the school, go back home and not return until next year, but they knew they couldn't. They were all stuck in the castle.  
  
Like last night, Dumbledore rose at the High Table. There was no need for him to ask everyone to be silent.  
  
"From now on, no one must walk around school by themselves. You will go to your classes in pairs or groups, and a teacher will watch over you all the time. Also, all Potions classes are cancelled until further notice. Thank you."  
  
He sat down and got back to his breakfast.  
  
Ron turned to Harry.  
  
"What are we going to do?" he asked.  
  
Harry thought hard, when suddenly Hedwig came swooping down and landed in front of him with a letter tied to her leg. Harry gave her some toast to nibble on and she took off to the Owlery.  
  
"It's from Hagrid" Harry said after he had opened the letter. "He wants to see us as soon as possible, it's important. And we have to bring... Hermione's unicorn horn?"  
  
"It must be about her. Maybe he's finally going to tell us everything."  
  
After breakfast the Gryffindor students went to their Transfiguration class. Harry and Ron had troubles concentrating and their attempts to transform a bird into a fish only resulted in featherless birds with no voice.  
  
When the class finally ended Harry and Ron caught up with Melissa.  
  
"You share room with Hermione, right? We need help."  
  
She asked him what it was about. Boys couldn't enter the girl's dormitories, so she was their only hope.  
  
"Somewhere among Hermione's things is a unicorn horn. Could you bring it to us, please? It's important."  
  
She nodded, and the three of them headed for the Gryffindor tower. Harry and Ron walked back and forth in the Common room, waiting for Melissa to come back, and when she finally did, with the glittering unicorn horn in her hand, Harry grabbed it, threw a 'thank you' over his shoulder and he and Ron shot out through the Fat Lady's portrait like Bludgers.  
  
They ran through the castle and crossed the big lawn with their hearts in their throats. It was again a very foggy day and they had to look around for a while before they saw Hagrid's hut.  
  
They knocked on the door and Hagrid opened. He seemed stressed, but when he saw the unicorn horn in Harry's hand he got an excited look in his black beetle eyes.  
  
"Good yeh came so quickly" he said and pulled the boys in through the door.  
  
"Hagrid, what has happened to Hermione? You have to tell us!" Ron demanded.  
  
The half giant squirmed and looked away from the boys as he tried pouring them some tea.  
  
"I can' tell yeh much, lads. I don' know much meself. But I know this: 'ermione is in great danger."  
  
"What is the monster? Tell us, now!"  
  
Hagrid leaned forward and gently took the unicorn horn from Harry. He held it up to his eyes, as if examining it carefully.  
  
"'Tis somethin' that a thing like this could take care of", he said.  
  
"But... a unicorn horn isn't magical after it's been taken from the animal, it can only be used in potions." Ron said.  
  
"We don' need magic for this sorta thing, lads. All we need... is somethin' pointy."  
  
"But Hagrid, you have to tell us..."  
  
"Yeh have to get back now", he said. "Thank yeh for comin', you've made all the diff'rence."  
  
And with that he practically shoved the boys out through the door and shut it behind them. 


	9. Nightmares

Harry and Ron walked back to the castle through the fog. Ron stared at the damp grass, looking worried and angry. Harry didn't know what to say.  
  
"Why won't he just tell us? He knows, I know he does!", Ron yelled.  
  
"So do I, Ron", Harry said in a calmer voice. "This isn't over yet."  
  
They entered the school without much more conversation and headed for their class in Charms. One hour later, the fog had drifted away from the grounds and a heavy rain started to play its gun fire music on the windows.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
However, there was one place where mist still ruled.  
  
Snape was in his dungeons, leaning over a cauldron which bubbled loudly and spread a thick fog. His tall, black figure was almost impossible to make out, and only a few candles lit up the room.  
  
He added dragon blood to the potion and stirred it ten times. He was stressed, he was breathing heavily and he ran back and forth to fetch more ingredients. Yet he was being more careful than ever before in his life. The slightest mistake... He didn't dare to think about it.  
  
"She has been taken" he thought. "I couldn't save her, I failed the one I love more than anything."  
  
He filled a cup with the milk white potion and sniffed it. Even when tortured with fear and sorrow he still managed to make a flawless potion.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
Hermione was dreaming.  
  
Her weak, tired mind painted horrible nightmares for her. She was running through the dark, empty corridors again, like that night so long ago, but now her sight was clouded by a spooky fog every half hour.  
  
She never saw the storm through the windows as she ran, but she heard roar it all too well. And something else too. Someone was chasing her, breathing down her neck. And it was so cold... Her eyes were filled with tears, but she was too afraid to even let them fall. She heard no foot steps but her own, yet she knew that the monster behind her was coming closer.... and closer...  
  
A gentle voice echoed somewhere in front of her.  
  
"I will always protect you..."  
  
She held on to it with all her might, followed it like a sailor follows a star in the night. But she couldn't find it. The voice died away and Hermione kept running, but all hope was lost.  
  
"Help me!" she screamed.  
  
She ran into a heavy door. She knew where she was, down in the dungeons, and Snape's classroom was right there. She knocked hard on the door, banged her fists to it until her knuckles bled.  
  
"Severus!" she cried, all formality forgotten. "Severus!"  
  
Suddenly the wooden door disappeared.  
  
She was in the Great Hall. Everywhere she saw couples dancing, the candles flickered slightly and the paper bats flew back and forth above her head. Everyone smiled and the music was soft and gentle.  
  
Before she knew how it happened she was dancing with someone. She looked up and saw Snape's eyes look back at her.  
  
She embraced him tightly and pressed her face to his shoulder, crying with relief.  
  
"You're here" she said. "At last I've found you."  
  
He put his arms around her, and kissed her hair.  
  
"Severus, I love you.", she sobbed.  
  
She looked up at him again. But Snape's face was gone. Instead, a white skull with empty holes for eyes was grinning at her.  
  
Its cold, bony fingers held her little, smooth hand.  
  
" I love you", the skull whispered, and Hermione screamed.  
  
She tore herself away from the skeleton and pushed the other couples out of her way as she started to run again. The paper bats followed her, she felt their red eyes burn into her back as she stormed out through the doors, and after a few minutes she felt their little fangs pierce her skin, like needles. They drank blood from her arms, her neck, her cheeks and no matter how much she waved her arms they wouldn't go away.  
  
"I love you.... I will always protect you..."  
  
"Severus!", she cried. But no one answered....  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
The darkness came quickly outside the castle, and in his hut Hagrid sat in his arm chair by a roaring fire. In his enormous hands he held the beautiful unicorn horn and sighed.  
  
"My poor lass" he whispered to himself.  
  
He laid the unicorn horn down on his table, left his seat and went across the room. From a dark corner he picked out his umbrella, turned around and pointed it at the table.  
  
"Mandare 'ermione" he said. White sparks flew out of the umbrella and hit the unicorn horn which disappeared in a cloud of smoke.  
  
"Good luck" he said and put away the mysterious umbrella. Then he laid down on his bed to get some sleep, but he didn't even close his eyes during the night.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
Snape stood by his window and looked at the rain drops that ran down it on the outside. That sight, the tears of the storm and its music, always used to calm him down, but this time it didn't work. He held an old, leather bound book in his right hand.  
  
He opened the book and started to read aloud.  
  
"When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state, and trouble deaf Heaven with my bootless cries, and look upon myself, and curse my fate..."  
  
He glanced over his shoulder, as if he had heard a noise. But he saw nothing, and so he kept reading aloud.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
Hermione was sitting on the cold stone floor. She had shaken the bats off a little while ago, and she was exhausted. She caressed the wall and leaned onto it, as if it could help her, while the thunder raged outside.  
  
She sobbed silently. She was so scared, so alone...  
  
Then she saw it.  
  
The dark corridor was lit up, as if a star had flown in through a window and now hung in the air in front of her. Hermione stood up and looked at the mysterious light.  
  
It made her torn dress shimmer like a dream, and its rays felt warmer and more comforting than the sun. They wiped her tears away.  
  
She had nothing to fear anymore. Everything was fine.  
  
She stretched out her hand to touch the light. Her fingers closed around something that felt like an icicle, but it wasn't cold.  
  
And, as she left the darkness and the nightmare behind her, she heard his voice.  
  
"For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings, that then, I scorn to change my state with kings."  
  
She slowly opened her eyes.  
  
Where was she? What had happened?  
  
She was in a four poster bed. Her bed. She sat up, but immediately fell back on the pillows again, too weak to move, let alone to walk. She moaned.  
  
There was the sound of foot steps coming towards her.  
  
"Melissa?" she said.  
  
The curtains opened... and there stood professor Snape.  
  
Hermione wanted to flung herself around his neck. It was his voice she had heard, he was the light in her dream.  
  
"Professor..." she said. "What happened?"  
  
Snape looked at her. She was so pale, so exhausted. "She must've had horrible dreams", he thought. He sat down next to her, and to his surprise she took his hand in hers.  
  
He found his voice and took a deep breath.  
  
"Hermione... Something happened to you tonight. The monster..."  
  
He released her hand. There was no going back, he had to tell her.  
  
"Hermione, I am so sorry" he said and looked away from her.  
  
She looked at him, wanted him to hold her in his arms and she wanted to finally tell him she loved him. But he spoke again, and his words turned her blood into ice.  
  
"Hermione.... I will tell you everything. I am the monster." 


	10. The Monster

Hermione stared at Snape. He still had his face turned away from her. The raindrops fell hard on the window outside.  
  
"Drink this", he said. It took a few seconds before she realised he held out a cup to her, filled with something that looked like milk. "Don't worry, it's a potion that will keep you awake for a while before you can go to sleep again."  
  
She took the cup and sipped it, still unable to take her frightened eyes off him, like a deer staring at a hunter.  
  
"How?" The word escaped from her lips like the smallest breeze, but he heard it.  
  
"I...", he began. Where to start?  
  
"I assume you have already tried a hundred different theories", he said. "And you've had to dismiss them all. But what you never realised was that you were right from the start."  
  
Seconds that felt like an eternity passed before Hermione asked, almost whispering:  
  
"You're a... vampire?"  
  
"You have already studied those, yes, and thrown the idea away since it seemed impossible. But what not many people know is that there are two kinds of vampires. The Muggle vampires that you have been reading about... and the Wizard vampires. No one knows much about them, because they are so rare. But I know everything. I am one."  
  
He paused and Hermione drank everything in her cup. The potion gave her some strength.  
  
Snape rose from the bed and took a few steps away from it, and now Hermione saw that they were in his rooms. Her heart was screaming inside her chest, she was alone with a vampire.  
  
She tried to speak, but she couldn't control her own voice. Eventually it came back to her.  
  
"You... attacked the students."  
  
"Yes", he said with his back turned against her. "It was the first time I've ever tasted human blood. I became a vampire six years ago, in the usual way. Another vampire bit me, and made me drink of his own blood. At first... I can never describe the fear I felt. Then I found out about a potion, a sleeping draught, called Dormatica."  
  
A memory woke up in Hermione's mind. A Potions class, long ago. They had been told to make that potion, for him! But the calmas leaves had all been dead.  
  
"The Dormatica is not only a sleeping draught", he continued. "It can be used as a tranquilliser, to control my... blood thirst, and reduce it to a minimum. Through these past six years, my food has consisted of animal blood. Maybe you have noticed how there are many more bats in the dungeons than usual ever since the attacks began."  
  
She merely nodded to herself.  
  
"No one knew about what I really am, except for the Headmaster and the other teachers. And it would have stayed that way, had not all the calmas died. Without them I couldn't brew the potion, and mere animal blood was not enough for me anymore. I fought my hunger for as long as I could, I have twisted and turned in my bed trying to tame it. But thanks to the Dormatica potion, the vampire in me is not me anymore. It is another personality... A murderous creature which stops at nothing to get what it wants."  
  
"But the doors were all locked during the nights," Hermione said.  
  
"As I said before, you only know about the Muggle vampires. But I am a wizard, I can do more than they. I can stand the day and the sunlight, and I can transform myself. I used to turn myself into smoke or mist and soar on the night air outside the castle. I got into the rooms through open windows, cracks in the wall, anything I could find, and inside I took my normal form again. And I drank. I couldn't deny that I loved it, that the taste of human blood filled me with yearning for more. I hated myself more and more everyday for what I had done, and I'll never know why Dumbledore didn't fire me."  
  
"Maybe he thought you could handle it. He trusted you."  
  
"He must have", Snape said, and Hermione almost thought she saw his shoulders shake. "I had failed him, and that almost hurt more than everything else.... Then there was you."  
  
He turned around and finally looked at her. He saw how she trembled with fear in his large bed, but she didn't run away or scream. She stayed...  
  
He found his voice again.  
  
"That day, in the library... You held me close to you, you weren't afraid of me, like everyone else. A small ray of happiness pierced the darkness I was imprisoned in. Just for that moment, my fear and hate for myself melted away, and I swore then and there that I would protect you, even at the cost of my own life."  
  
He lowered his head a bit, as if he was crying, and the fear released Hermione's heart. She felt the tears rise in her eyes. One of them fell down her cheek. A tear of pity and love for this man in front of her who had lived through something that was far worse than Hell could ever be.  
  
"And... the night I came to you for help...?"  
  
"I know fear like no one else, but I have never been so afraid as I was that night. I could have run into you in a corridor, and then there would have been no hope for you. But I missed you, and I had just got back to my rooms from the Slytherin house when you knocked on my door. I was back to normal, the monster was satisfied for the night. And you came..."  
  
She gasped. She had slept in the same room as a vampire. But when he spoke again she relaxed, his voice sounded like pure silk and velvet, and it gently stroked her heart.  
  
"Last night there was the Halloween dance. I hadn't eaten for a week and the hunger was tearing me apart, it never leaves me. Right after that dance with you... it took over. I was desperate, all I wanted, all I could think of, was blood. So when the fog came I stretched out my hand and grabbed an arm without seeing who my victim was. I took her away, I noticed it was a girl, and I drank her blood in a dark corridor. I drank until I got dizzy, somehow her blood was better than everyone else's, and it made me shiver like never before. All too soon I realised... that it was you I held in my arms, it was you I had nearly killed."  
  
Hermione's hand flew up to her neck, and for the first time she noticed that there was a scarf tied around it.  
  
"Am I bleeding?", she asked.  
  
He trembled and lowered his eyes, not daring to look at her anymore.  
  
"Not much", he said. "After I had seen your face, and the markings on your neck, I fell apart. I took you here and put you on my bed, then I started working on the potion I gave you. Soon you will fall back asleep again, and you probably won't wake up for a week. But I needed to tell you the truth, I have wanted so much to tell you. You have made my misery a little easier to carry, just by being who you are..."  
  
'Just by being who she was'... Could it mean...?  
  
Hermione turned her body to the side and put down her feet on the floor. She was still wearing the dress from the dance. Now it was partly shredded.  
  
"Lay down again", Snape said, but she took a few trembling steps towards him, locking his eyes to hers.  
  
"Go back to the bed, you are too weak", he said. She didn't listen, and suddenly she tripped. She fell, and Snape rushed forth and caught her in his arms. She laid her arms around his neck as he supported her and helped her stand.  
  
"Why do you say that? Why do you tell me these things?" she asked, and now he noticed that she was crying. He gathered her up in his arms and carried her back to the bed, where he sat down with her on his lap. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he felt her warm tears wet his black robes.  
  
"Because I love you, Hermione", he said, and it was as if a heavy stone had fallen from his chest. "I have loved you so long, and while it tormented me, it made me happy, it gave me hope, because I knew I was still human. I knew you could never love me back, that I could never even tell you what you did to me with just a look. Holding you in the library, watching you sleep here in my dark room, like a beautiful angel in a beast's cave, and dancing with you, those are the best memories I have."  
  
"Stop", she sobbed. Her heart was beating loudly inside her, it sang and whispered, and at last she let it speak. "I love you too, Severus, don't you understand that? I don't care what you are or what you have done, I love you, with all my heart!"  
  
He held her closer to him and gasped. A single tear ran down his cheek, the first tear he had shed since he was a child. She loved him? Could it be true? After what he had done to her, and to many others? He almost didn't dare to believe it, but when he felt her cheek against his own, and felt their tears mix as they kissed each other, he knew his dreams had come true.  
  
"Do it", she said as their lips drifted apart.  
  
She raised her chin and revealed her neck to him. She took off the scarf and showed him her smooth skin, offered it to him.  
  
"I can't", he said, but he felt the hunger stir in him.  
  
"You have to", she said. "Drink."  
  
He couldn't resist. He leaned forward and his lips brushed against her skin. He inhaled her scent, tasted her with all his senses, he got dizzy and drunk with hunger and when his sharp teeth pierced her neck once again he heard her give a short, painful scream.  
  
He tore himself away after drinking only a few drops.  
  
"I can't do it, don't ask me to!", he shouted.  
  
He saw the pain reflect itself in her face, and the hate he felt for himself filled him so he could barely breathe. He had done it again, he had caused her pain, he had failed her in every way.  
  
He moved her away from his lap and got back on his feet.  
  
"Hermione...", he said, his voice trembling. "I read aloud to you as you slept, and I put a spell on my voice so that you would hear it. I woke you up for a reason. I have made a decision, and I wanted to tell you everything... before I go through with it. But I never thought it would be like this..."  
  
She rose from the bed again, and he ran to her, ready to catch her if she fell. But she stood up and looked at him. In her eyes he saw only love, and so much pity.  
  
He suddenly noticed something in her hand. She was clutching it very tightly, but she didn't even know it was there. It was a unicorn horn.  
  
"Hermione", he said. "I have got something in common with a Muggle vampire."  
  
He took out his wand and pointed it at her arm..  
  
"Erecto", he said, and Hermione's arm was stretched out in front of her, straight and strong like a branch on a tree, and it pointed the sharp horn at him.  
  
She understood what he was doing.  
  
"No!", she screamed with the tears running from her eyes, making her cheeks shimmer, but she couldn't lower her arm. "Don't do it! Severus, don't!"  
  
"Don't you see?", he asked. "I have done horrible things, and I have done them to you. I will never forgive myself, I can't be cured from this fate. The Dormatica would be useless for me to take now, I can't control it anymore! If I continue living, there will be more and more victims, until I loose my soul, and kill them instead of just leaving them barely alive. And someday, one of those victims will be you. I will never risk that, I swore to protect you at any cost!"  
  
Desperately, Hermione tugged at her out stretched arm with her other hand, but it was solid as a rock, and the point of the unicorn horn was aiming directly at Snape's heart.  
  
"Save them", he said, and his voice was calm now. "Kill me to save everyone else."  
  
She kept crying, but her mind suddenly became clear. She knew he was right...  
  
"My love...", she whispered.  
  
"My hope...", he replied.  
  
With a cry she fell forward, and the glittering unicorn horn hit Snape in the chest. It shredded his robes, pierced his skin, and eventually Hermione felt it sink deep into his heart.  
  
The blood stained his robes and made the silvery unicorn horn red. He gasped, and started to breathe heavily as he sank down to his knees. She fell to the floor as well, and cradled his head in her arms as he laid down on his back.  
  
"I'm so sorry", she sobbed. "I'm so sorry."  
  
"Don't... be.", he said, and she saw that he wasn't afraid anymore. Only love came from his black winter night eyes. "I.. love you..."  
  
"I love you too", she whispered, and the look in his eyes started to fade.  
  
The last thing he felt before he died were her tears falling on his face....  
  
She closed his eyes and gently kissed his lips. Her sobs were very quiet, all she heard was the rain outside.  
  
He was gone....  
  
She took Snape's wand from him and pointed it at the fire place.  
  
"Ardeo", she whispered, and a fire started to burn at once. She threw the wand away and gathered all her strength to drag Snape's body to the fire place. She took a hand full of Floo powder from a pot on the floor, threw it in the flames and stepped into them, holding him tight to her.  
  
"The Headmaster's office."  
  
They were immediately taken away, and after a bumpy ride, Hermione landed on the floor in professor Dumbledore's office. The portraits on the walls were sleeping, but the old wizard was still awake, and he jumped to his feet when he saw her, dragging the Potions master behind her.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore..." she said.  
  
Then she fell to the floor in deep sleep, exhausted with sorrow. 


	11. A Heart in Ruins

Professor Dumbledore walked around his desk and knelt down beside Hermione. She was sleeping heavily, and he knew that it would last for a while.  
  
He sighed, took out his wand and pointed it to her.  
  
"Locomotor Hermione", he said, and she started to soar four feet above the floor. He guided her body out through the door with the wand and followed her closely. He threw a look at Snape as he walked by, but there was no hope. The Potions master was dead.  
  
The old wizard shut the door behind him and guided Hermione's soaring body through the dark school. Eventually they stopped at the Hospital wing, where the headmaster muttered another spell:  
  
"Levanta Pomfrey".  
  
Professor Dumbledore waited a few minutes, then he knocked on the door three times. A newly awakened madam Pomfrey opened, wearing a white old- fashioned night gown, and looked at the floating girl in the torn dress.  
  
"Another one, Albus?", she asked and invited him to step in through the door.  
  
"The last one, Poppy", he replied and allowed Hermione to make a smooth landing on an empty bed.  
  
"You mean..."  
  
"Yes. It is over."  
  
Madam Pomfrey gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Then she exhaled in a deep sigh and shook her head.  
  
"What happened to him?"  
  
"I am not completely sure. Miss Granger came to my office using Floo powder, dragging his body behind her. He's got a pole sticking out of his chest."  
  
She lowered her head a little and nodded. It had to end, there was no other way.  
  
"Will you look after miss Granger?", the headmaster asked.  
  
"Yes, of course", madam Pomfrey replied, as if she had forgotten all about Hermione. "Good night, Albus."  
  
"Good night, Poppy", he said and left the Hospital wing.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
Even though hearts are broken, the days and nights continue to weave the never-ending carpet of Time. No matter how black with sorrow the threads are, it never stops. But Hermione felt nothing of it in her dreamless sleep, and when she woke up in the Hospital wing she thought she had only slept one night.  
  
It was a gloomy evening, and thick clouds ruled the sky and made the Hogwarts grounds a very grey place. When Hermione opened her eyes, all she could see were bouquets of flowers surrounding her bed, and a big box of chocolate frogs. It took a while before she noticed the two boys sitting next to her, their faces radiant with joy and relief.  
  
"Hermione?", Harry said. "It's us."  
  
"Thank Merlin, you're okay. Is there anything we can do?", Ron asked.  
  
She moaned. The world started to come into focus.  
  
"How did I came here?", she asked.  
  
The boys looked at each other, and then back at her.  
  
"We don't know. All we know is that professor Dumbledore told us that you were safe, and that we could come and visit you today. You have been here for two and a half weeks.", Harry said.  
  
Somewhere inside Hermione's scholar mind a voice asked how much she had missed of school, but it was drowned at once by the tidal wave of memories that ran through her. The tears came back into her eyes, but only one of them fell down her cheek and into her hair. Harry and Ron didn't notice it, and kept telling her how worried they had been for her sake.  
  
"We have missed you so much, Hermione. Not even the fact that Potions are temporarily cancelled could make us happy."  
  
Ron looked around, as if he wanted to make sure that no one was listening. Then he bent down over Hermione and whispered:  
  
"What happened? You saw the monster, didn't you? You know what it is."  
  
"He's not a monster", Hermione said.  
  
Ron's and Harry's eyebrows flew almost all the way up to their hairs.  
  
"'He'? It's a human?", Ron asked.  
  
Harry looked a bit stressed.  
  
"Was it Voldemort?", he asked.  
  
"No", Hermione sighed with very tired voice and leaned her head to the side. Her brain felt like lead.  
  
Madam Pomfrey came into the room with a tray, on which were bottles of healing potions in every colour of the rainbow. She looked at Hermione and smiled.  
  
"Good, you are awake again, miss Granger.", she said and put the tray down on a small table next to Hermione's bed. "How do you feel?"  
  
Hermione didn't know if she would laugh or cry at the question. So she only said what was expected of her.  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"Lovely, dear. I've got something for you. Just drink this, and then you can go back to the Gryffindor tower at once."  
  
Harry and Ron helped Hermione sit up in the bed as madam Pomfrey opened a bottle with a sky blue potion and gave it to her. She took it gently, thinking that Snape's fingers had once touched it. For a moment, that bottle was the most precious thing in the world.  
  
Hermione put it to her lips and drank the potion. It was sour beyond belief, but she didn't even blink as it slid down her throat. She tilted her head backwards, and once again one single tear fell from her eye and disappeared into her thick hair.  
  
When the bottle was empty she gave it back to madam Pomfrey and gingerly stepped out of bed. Her body was strong again, but inside her chest was only emptiness.  
  
"Escort her back, boys", madam Pomfrey ordered and went into her office.  
  
"Come here, Hermione", Harry said and took her gently by the left arm as Ron took the right one.  
  
They left the Hospital wing in silence. Hermione knew that the others were burning with questions, but she didn't want to answer them.  
  
At one point she thought she heard a noise. She raised her head to the ceiling, and saw a lonely bat fly around lazily.  
  
"It won't have anything to fear anymore", she thought to herself.  
  
Then she opened her mouth and said:  
  
"It's over."  
  
Harry and Ron turned their faces to her, looking confused.  
  
"The monster is gone", she continued.  
  
Ron stared at her.  
  
"How? What happened?"  
  
"I... killed him."  
  
"Now you say 'him' again, what do you mean?"  
  
"I don't want to talk about it", she replied, and her voice was so filled with sorrow that the boys decided not to ask her about it anymore. When she was ready she would tell them. It didn't matter anyway, it was over.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
The November night came with its dark veil and settled over Hogwarts. Somewhere a clock struck ten, but the doors didn't start to shine. Professor Dumbledore had told the students at dinner about how the situation had been solved, and that bed time was at eleven o'clock again, but he didn't tell them what had really happened, or anything about the monster. He just sat down again, with a thousand pair of eyes staring at him. But soon, the students gave up their waiting for answers, and decided that everything was back to normal.  
  
Hermione's eyes hadn't left the plate in front of her for a second, not even to look at the empty seat at the High table. She didn't want to see it.  
  
Now she was in her dormitory, looking out through the window. She didn't cry, she didn't even move.  
  
Her room mates were happy to have her back, and they all wanted to know what had happened, but when they had seen the sad look in her eyes, they decided to leave her alone. They were already sleeping.  
  
When she closed her eyes, she could still feel his lips on hers, kissing her so gently. yet passionately. Once again, she heard his last words in her mind.  
  
"I... love you..."  
  
"Severus", she whispered to herself. But he didn't answer. He never would. 


	12. Hope

The next day, all Hermione felt was emptiness. She didn't taste the food she ate, she didn't hear when people talked to her. If one would have held her heart to the ear, one would probably have heard the ocean, like in a deserted seashell.  
  
Harry and Ron didn't speak to her much, they were afraid they would say the wrong things and turn her silence into violent tears, but whenever they looked at her they felt their own spirit sink very low.  
  
During Herbology that day, a note suddenly appeared in professor Sprout's dirty hands. She read it through and said aloud:  
  
"Miss Granger. The headmaster wants to see you in his office, you are excused from this class."  
  
Her head shot up. Dumbledore wanted to talk to her?  
  
She collected her things and left the green house behind her, passed a hundred doors, corridors and staircases on her way up, and eventually she stood in front of the office. It felt like it had been years ago since she had come to it with Snape in her arms. The door was open, so she carefully knocked on it with her knuckles, then entered.  
  
The portraits of old headmasters that covered the walls all looked at her with pity in their eyes.  
  
"Poor girl", she heard one of them whisper.  
  
Hermione saw professor Dumbledore standing by a sofa in front of a tall window, and she gasped loudly.  
  
He was bending over Snape's body.  
  
The old wizard straightened up and turned around to face her. She became as white as a sheet, unable to take her eyes off her beloved. The unicorn horn had been taken out of him, and although it had been three weeks since his death, he looked as if he was merely sleeping.  
  
"Miss Granger?", Dumbledore said. "Are you all right?"  
  
She didn't answer him. He picked up his wand from his desk and pointed at the floor, and one of the usual, comfortable armchairs grew out from it.  
  
"Please sit down", he said. When Hermione still didn't move, he guided her to the chair and gently forced her down in it.  
  
He sat down opposite her, and his blue eyes seemed to look right into her soul.  
  
"I have asked you to come here for a very important reason", he said. "It is about professor Snape."  
  
Hermione nodded.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir."  
  
She looked up at the old wizard, and asked nervously:  
  
"Will I be expelled?"  
  
"Good Merlin, no", Dumbledore said. "Hermione, I wanted you to come here to tell you that none of this was your fault. I know it may sound awful, but what you did was the only way for Severus, and I think you gave him a great gift when you..."  
  
He didn't finish the sentence. He leaned forward a bit, and gently stroked Hermione's cheek with one of his long fingers. She looked into his kind eyes, and for the first time she felt a little calm again.  
  
"He loved you, Hermione. I know he did, and I believe he was very happy when his miseries ended. Not only because they were over, but also because you were there with him."  
  
"I love him too", she said.  
  
Dumbledore's eyes sparkled for a second, but Hermione didn't notice.  
  
"I am very glad to hear you say that, miss Granger.", he said. "Severus' life was not a happy one, and I dare say that you did more for him than anyone else has ever done, just by loving him. You saved him, Hermione, and you saved hundreds of people at the same time."  
  
"But he is.... dead..."  
  
"As long as someone remembers us, we can never die. He will always live, in your heart. That's true immortality. And who knows, maybe you will see each other again someday."  
  
She closed her eyes, afraid that the tears would start falling again. She hated crying in front of people.  
  
"Everything will be all right", professor Dumbledore said. Then he stretched out his hand and held out a bowl to Hermione.  
  
"Lemon drops?"  
  
The small, kind question seemed so far away from the topic, and so silly, that it made Hermione smile. A real smile woke up on her lips. It never grew big, but it was definitely there, and Dumbledore saw it.  
  
"You can go now, Hermione", he said and helped himself to a lemon drop. "Thank you for coming. Oh, and I believe this is yours."  
  
He slid his hand into his robes and pulled out Hermione's unicorn horn. It had been wiped clean from blood, and shimmered as beautifully as ever. At first she wanted to scream at the sight of it, it had killed Snape. But she took it in her hand and put it in her school bag instead, intending on hiding it forever in her dormitory.  
  
"Thank you", she said.  
  
She left the armchair, which sank back into the floor, and opened the door to the office. She threw one last, love filled look at Severus' peaceful face before she left the office to meet Harry and Ron in the Great Hall. It was dinner time.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
For the first time in many weeks, the November evening sky outside of Hogwarts was clear, and the moon and a million stars had taken the opportunity to shine and sparkle their best, like actors entering a stage after the curtain rises. Professor Dumbledore was back in his office after dinner, studying a thick book. He couldn't concentrate, he had read the same two lines about thirteen times already. Eventually he closed the book with a bang that woke up one of the portraits.  
  
"What's the noise about? I was having a great nap."  
  
"Very sorry, Phineas", Dumbledore said to the wizard in Slytherin colours. The portrait gave him a haughty look, then it turned to Severus.  
  
"Why is he still here? He's dead, isn't he?"  
  
"Yes, he is dead", the headmaster said, trying to control his voice. "But don't you think there is something... unusual about him?"  
  
"Other than his hair being so greasy I could use it as a mirror?"  
  
"Yes, something other than that."  
  
Dumbledore rose from his chair and walked over to Severus, who was lying on a sofa in front of the window. He touched the Potions master's cheek.  
  
"He has been dead for three weeks. And yet... he looks fine."  
  
"Maybe he is too bitter to even die like normal people. Why did you took out the unicorn horn, by the way?"  
  
"Because it was a unicorn horn, those are very precious things, and it belonged to Hermione. Besides, when we bury the poor boy, I don't want that thing to point out of his chest."  
  
Dumbledore didn't say anything about the wild hope he held inside him...  
  
Phineas turned away from the headmaster and Snape, and went back to sleep within a few minutes.  
  
Dumbledore continued to study Snape's calm face, and he remembered something he had heard a long time ago. An old rumour about wizard vampires... But the idea of it was too good to be true, Dumbledore knew more about wizard vampires than anyone else, and he had never heard about anything that confirmed this rumour. Still, he couldn't block out the light of hope that started to shine within him, like sun rays among the trees of the Forbidden forest.  
  
Then it came.  
  
Snape's right hand, which was hanging outside the sofa, moved its fore finger!  
  
Dumbledore stared at it, but nothing more happened. The old wizard closed his eyes and shook his head. He must've imagined it, maybe his hopes played him tricks.  
  
"Poor boy", he said, and turned away to get back to his book.  
  
He sat down by his desk, opened the book at a random page and started to read again. Outside he could hear the wind sing around the corners of the castle, mixed with the sound of Phineas snoring. It was a peaceful evening, at one point Dumbledore thought the wind whispered to him.  
  
A few seconds later he looked up from the book. Now he wasn't imagining it, the wind had definitely said something to him.  
  
He held his breath, looked around and out through the window, but he saw nothing unusual. Then it came again, softer than the smallest summer breeze, and almost impossible to hear.  
  
"Hermione...."  
  
Dumbledore's heart skipped a beat with joy.  
  
"Yes", he whispered, a broad smile awakening on his face. "YES!" 


	13. December Night Eyes

Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting in the Library a few days later, writing their essays for professor Binns. They were almost alone, and the only sound that could be heard in the big library was the scratching of their quills to the parchments. It was the first of December, and outside the windows was already night, although the time was only six o'clock.  
  
Hermione didn't knew what kept her writing and reading through the minutes. Once she had read a book, where it said that the human heart is like a sponge: it can only take so much water, then it doesn't matter even if a great wave came upon it, it can't take any more. Hermione's heart was full, it couldn't hold any more tears and sorrow than it already did. And through that, she almost fell into a trance, and kept writing and reading, like a machine.  
  
Harry looked down on his parchment. He hadn't written much, his mind was elsewhere. He looked at Hermione's vacant face, and more than ever he wanted to talk to her for real again, to know what had really happened.  
  
As if he had read Harry's mind, Ron shot up from his chair and walked around the table to Hermione.  
  
"You are driving me crazy!" he shouted.  
  
She looked up from the big book she was reading, but her eyes didn't seem to see Ron at all.  
  
He became a little calmer, and sat down next to her.  
  
"Please, Hermione", he continued. "We were so worried about you when you disappeared from the dance, and when you came back, we were over the moon."  
  
He paused. Gods, this was hard for him to say...  
  
"But... now it's like you never came back", he said.  
  
"Yeah", Harry said, and walked around the table as well. "You're not like the Hermione we remember. You've hardly spoken ten words since you woke up in the Hospital wing, you don't eat anymore, and worst of all, you don't raise your hand in class anymore. Please, we beg of you, talk to us. Tell us what happened to you."  
  
Hermione turned away from Ron and to Harry. He looked deep into her eyes,, but he saw no tears. Suddenly he saw a little light wake up in them, as if her eyes had been asleep and now met daylight after a long while.  
  
Hermione couldn't stand it any longer. She knew Harry and Ron were right, and that she had been unfair to them. And telling someone about it all, easing the pain, would be so wonderful...  
  
So she began. She told them everything, from the Potions class where the calmas had died until the evening when professor Dumbledore asked her to come to his office. She left nothing out, she told them about how much she loved Snape and how he had told her that he loved her. The boys never interrupted her. They gave out gasps once in a while, but they never said a word. When Hermione finished, it was as if a big rock had fell of her heart, and she exhaled a little. Harry and Ron looked pale.  
  
"He... drank your blood?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And you let him?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Hermione... We're so sorry.", Harry said and took her hand.  
  
"You're not going to tell me how disgusting it is to fall in love with Snape?", she asked.  
  
"No", Ron replied. "We would have, normally, but this... This isn't exactly normal."  
  
Hermione knew what he meant, it wasn't an insult.  
  
"Thank you, guys", she said, and lowered her head.  
  
"No worries", Harry said. "We're here for you, Hermione. We always will be."  
  
The relief of telling her best friends everything fell upon her like a warm blanket. She leaned forward and embraced them both, with her arms around their necks. They held her to them and patted her back gently as she shed a few tears on their shoulders.  
  
"I'm sorry", she whispered.  
  
"It's okay. Cry all you want."  
  
But she didn't cry much, and after only a few seconds she released the boys.  
  
"Thank you", she said again.  
  
She turned her eyes back to the books, and said, as bravely as she could:  
  
"Maybe we should get back to the essays."  
  
This made Harry and Ron look at each other, and without Hermione fully understanding why, they began to laugh. At first it was mere giggles, but then it grew until a wild storm of laughter came from the two boys. Their eyes were filled with tears of laughter, they hammered their fists loudly to the table, and it took a long while before the mad joy died off.  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
After dinner that evening, they decided to go down to Hagrid's hut. The boys had gently forced Hermione into eating some chicken and rice, and it wasn't until then that she understood how hungry she had been.  
  
Once again, the stars twinkled at them as they crossed the lawn. The grass had been covered in frost the day before, and it gave a crispy whisper as they walked on it. It was a beautiful December night, and the lights in Hagrid's windows looked welcoming and warm. They knocked on the door, and heard Fang bark with excitement on the other side. Hagrid opened. and when he saw Hermione, he threw his arms, thick as trees, around her and pressed her to his gigantic chest.  
  
"Thank Heaven's, yer allrigh'", he said and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Com' in, com' in!"  
  
He reached out, practically grabbed the three of them and pulled them inside. They sat down in their usual place, the sunken-down sofa, and eagerly he poured them some newly-boiled tea. A fire was burning in the little hut, and Fang was lying in front of it. Harry, Ron and Hermione sipped their tea in unison as Hagrid went on talking.  
  
"I've been so worried 'bout yeh all. I knew I couldn' do much meself, but I tried. Yeh must've got the horn, 'ermione, eh? T'was me that sent it."  
  
"Yes, I got it", Hermione said, looking down into her tea cup.  
  
"Good. And I..."  
  
For the first time, Hagrid looked at Hermione's face, and he stopped talking, as if he was a radio that someone had switched off.  
  
"Is somethin' wrong, lass?"  
  
She merely nodded.  
  
"Oh" he said, and sat down in his huge chair. "I'm sorry, I didn' mean ter bring up bad memories. I'm just so chuffed yer fine."  
  
"It's okay, Hagrid", she said. "It's just... professor Snape..."  
  
She looked up at Hagrid's sad face.  
  
"You knew all along that it was him, didn't you?"  
  
"Aye. But I never lost 'ope that there migh' be somethin' good inside him. And I think yeh proved that there was."  
  
"You... know what happened?"  
  
"I do." He sighed. "When I sent yeh the horn in yer dream, it connected me to yer soul 'till yeh went to sleep again. I know wha' yeh felt, I know wha' yeh saw, and I can tell yeh this much: yeh both did wha' yeh did out of love. Pure love."  
  
Hagrid stretched his hand out and stroked Hermione's bushy hair.  
  
"Don' cry, love. Yeh did the righ' thing. And yeh'll see him again, I promise."  
  
"Yeah", she said.  
  
"'ere, drink yer tea, it'll make yeh feel better."  
  
She raised the cup to her lips and let the warm tea run down her throat. It really did make her feel better, Hagrid must've put something in it.  
  
"Belladonna leaves", he said, as if he had read her thoughts. "'Tis very soothing. You'll have a pleasen' sleep tonigh', I believe."  
  
They remained in the hut for a little while longer before heading back to the castle. Hogwarts was an enchanting sight, and the belladonna-tea made Hermione relax enough to find it stunningly beautiful. A good night's sleep would be great, it had been a while since last time.  
  
The night was so peaceful. Not a sound was heard, even the Forbidden forest, which was always full of mysterious creatures, was quiet and calm. Hermione didn't want to leave all this beauty behind, but she followed the boys in through the doors and up the many stairs that led to the Gryffindor tower.  
  
"Good night, Hermione", Harry and Ron said and entered their dormitory.  
  
"Good night", she said, and started to ascend the stairs to her own room. But half way up, she stopped. Her mind was a little dizzy from the tea. It was such a wonderful night... Couldn't she just go out for a little while, on one of the balconies, say good night to the world and look at it before going to bed? She needed it....  
  
She turned around and went back into the Common room. She went out through the Fat Lady's portrait, which was no longer magically locked but open all night, and began to walk down a corridor.  
  
After a while, she was outside, in one of her favourite places in the school. She had never showed it to anyone, this was her special spot. It was a small bridge, going from one tower to another, and from there she had an amazing view over the grounds. She leaned her elbows on the stone, supported her chin in her hand and looked at the stars. There were millions of them, they twinkled, shimmered and smiled to her, but she saw no moon. She sighed with admiration. It was magical...  
  
She gave a little gasp. She had seen a shooting star, for the first time. It fell off from its place and dived through infinity, leaving behind it a tail of light. Hermione smiled, closed her eyes, and made a quiet wish inside her heart.  
  
A soft voice started to sing inside her mind. It was a Muggle song she had heard once, which she liked very much.  
  
'On a wind, 'cross the sea,  
  
hear this song and remember  
  
soon you'll be home with me  
  
once upon a December'  
  
A tiny wind played in her hair, and her eyes remained closed. The wind whispered in her ear, and it seemed so alive that she opened her eyes to check that she was alone.  
  
And there he was. 


	14. Eternal Love

The world seemed to stop turning, the wind stopped too, as if it had decided to stay and watch what was about to happen. Neither of them spoke for a little while, until Hermione whispered his name into the night, staring at him.  
  
"Severus..."  
  
He too was staring at her. He wasn't sure if he was truly alive again, or if this was Heaven. Then he knew that it made no difference. He was there, she was right in front of him...  
  
"Hermione..."  
  
She lost everything at the sound of his voice. Her heart, that had been soaked in tears, could no longer keep them, and she started to cry, without making the slightest sound. He watched her tears shine like stars on her cheeks, and he knew they were tears of love - for him. He took one step forward, and then she was in his arms. He gently stroked her hair, closed his eyes, inhaled her and the night, whispering her name over and over again.  
  
"Is it you?" she asked, pressing her face to his shoulder. "Or are you a ghost?"  
  
"It is me, my love", he replied, and she was ready to scream with happiness. "I was gone, but I came back, and it's all thanks to you."  
  
"Severus..." she said again and embraced him, making sure that he was really there.  
  
"I'm here. I will never leave you alone again, I promise."  
  
She looked up at his face, touched his cheek and followed a lock of his black hair with her fingers. He kissed her forehead and buried his hands in her thick, soft hair. Gods, he loved her! He would always love her, his angel, his heart... It felt so wonderful to have her close to him, she was like a sun.  
  
"What happened?", she asked, looking into his eyes.  
  
"I'm not entirely sure. I was... lost. Everywhere I looked was darkness, yet not. I walked among places I knew from my past... And all along, a voice guided me, told me to follow it. I didn't know where it would lead me to, but I knew I was... dead, and that I couldn't go back. Then, suddenly, a few days ago, I woke up in Dumbledore's office, as if I'd only had a nightmare."  
  
He paused. It had all been so blurry to him at first, and he had been so confused, so scared, as if he was a new born baby... Then he had seen the headmaster bending down over him, smiling broadly and with eyes that sparkled and shone more than ever.  
  
"Welcome back, Severus", he had said.  
  
He had lived in that office since he woke up, too weak and dizzy to walk properly. But tonight, he was fully restored. He was back...  
  
"Dumbledore told me" he continued, "that what happened to me... has never happened before in history. He had heard rumours about it, but he never dared to hope that they would come true."  
  
"What? How...?" she asked.  
  
"A Muggle vampire is beyond all hope. He cannot be saved, or cured, and when he dies, he remains dead, no matter what. I would have too, if... you hadn't been there."  
  
He threw a quick glance at her throat, but the red markings had completely disappeared. There weren't even the smallest scars.  
  
"I drank your blood... and it was different from the blood of anyone else in the world. Because it was yours, and because you loved me. Love is physical, it runs with the blood, and that, in combination with the unicorn horn, saved me. Your blood, my beloved, was the last I drank, and when the healing powers of the unicorn horn came in contact with it in my heart... it cured me. Had it been the blood of someone else, nothing would have happened, but it was blood that held love... for me. True love, or else it wouldn't have worked. Can it be real, Hermione? Do you love me? Have all my dreams come true, at last?"  
  
"Yes", she said. "Oh Severus, I have missed you so much..."  
  
That little word, and the sound of his own name from her lips, sent a shiver through his body. He wrapped his arms and black robes around her, rested his own head on top of hers, and swore that he would never, ever let her go.  
  
"I died, yes. But it was only the vampire in me that died. I am cured, I am human, the love in your heart and the magic of the unicorn horn brought me back to life. You were the voice that guided me through The other side."  
  
A question popped up in her mind.  
  
"What's it like to die?"  
  
She regretted it immediately, but he didn't mind at all.  
  
"It's beautiful, my love. It doesn't hurt, and I believe I know now what happens. I told you I saw places I knew... Maybe, when we die, we are brought to the happiest moment of our lives, and we stay there forever. That must be Heaven. That's why you were the one that showed me the way... You are my happiest moment."  
  
"And so are you, Severus. But this moment will never end, I will love you forever."  
  
He bent down and kissed her eyelids. He touched her tears with his finger tips, allowed them to fall down on the palm of his hand, and tightly clenched his fist.  
  
"What's that?", she asked.  
  
"You'll see", he replied, and smiled at her.  
  
She looked at him, and smiled as well. His eyes widened and he gasped a little, as if he had suddenly remembered something.  
  
"Oh yes", he said, more to himself. "I almost forgot."  
  
He took one arm off Hermione, and took out his wand.  
  
"Accio Astrum Amor" he said.  
  
Hermione looked surprised. What was this?  
  
He kept smiling. "Look. It's a surprise."  
  
She looked around, and got very confused indeed when she saw what was coming flying through the air.  
  
It was a flower in a pot made out of clay. The flower she had got for her birthday, from the anonymous person with the black owl.  
  
Severus stretched out his hand and caught the ugly flower with a smile, as if it was a Golden Snitch.  
  
"You sent that?", she asked.  
  
"I did, with my owl Orion. Did you like it?"  
  
"Yeah", she mumbled and looked away.  
  
"My love, you are a terrible liar. You thought it was awful."  
  
She heard the smile was still in his voice, so she looked back at him and blushed a bit.  
  
He held up the flower to her.  
  
"This is a very rare flower. I got it from my mother shortly before she died, and she told me to give it to the one I love above everything else, because this flower will last forever, just like our love. It's called an Astrum Amor."  
  
Hermione looked at the flower.  
  
"Give me your hand", he said. She did, and he placed her forefinger on the brown ball that were the petals. Then he placed his own forefinger on the opposite side.  
  
"Keep your finger there."  
  
He held the flower between them, bent forward and kissed her lips. She responded to the kiss with all her heart and closed her eyes. It was a wonderful kiss, soft and romantic, and it made stars dance inside her.  
  
"Astrum Amor" Severus whispered, his lips still brushing hers, and Hermione felt the flower's petals move.  
  
She opened her eyes again and looked at the flower. The brown, ugly petals were slowly opening, and inside was a glowing ball, as big as a tennis ball. It was so pretty, so beautiful...  
  
Severus picked the light ball up, and showed it to Hermione's fascinated eyes.  
  
"Do you know what Astrum Amor means, my beloved?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"Love star. The flower only opens when it feels true love."  
  
He put the radiant ball in the palm of her hand, and now she knew what it was. She smiled happily.  
  
"Do it", he said.  
  
She lowered her arm, then she raised it... and tossed the star up into the night sky. She and Severus watched it rise and rise, higher and higher above the glittering world, until it stopped and twinkled down to them. They both knew it would shine forever.  
  
"Thank you, Severus", she said.  
  
"No. Thank you, my angel", he replied and put his arms around her again. "I love you, Hermione."  
  
"I love you too, Severus."  
  
They kissed and talked until dawn came...  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
Severus began teaching Potions again the next day, much to the disappointment of the students. But they felt better when they realised how changed he was. He wasn't mean to the students any more, and he didn't take away house points for no reason. No one asked him about what had happened, but some Gryffindors noticed how the Potions master sometimes winked at Hermione Granger during class.  
  
She, Ron and Harry graduated the same year, but Hermione came back to Hogwarts again, as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. She did an excellent job, right from the beginning, and Dumbledore never had to worry about filling that position again.  
  
Hermione and Severus spent every day in each other's company, falling more and more in love by the minute. And one night in December, when the snow fell outside the windows and they were seated on a couch by a fire in his private rooms, he turned to her.  
  
"Hermione... I got something for you."  
  
She gave him a smile.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
He got of the couch. It was here at last, the moment he had been dreaming of for so long...  
  
He got down on his knees, took her hand gently and looked into her eyes.  
  
"I have seen many wonders in this world, I know about miracles and magic... but I have never seen anything so wonderful and perfect as you. Hermione... my love, my life and my everything... will you marry me?"  
  
He held out a ring to her, It was a gold ring, with four diamonds. She gasped at the beauty of it.  
  
"These are not ordinary diamonds. Remember the day I came back? And I wiped away your tears..."  
  
"You mean... those are..."  
  
"Yes. Tears of joy and love."  
  
She clasped her hands to her mouth, unable to speak. Her heart was singing inside her.  
  
"Will you marry me? Will you make me the happiest man on Earth, and do me the honour of becoming my wife?" he asked again.  
  
She threw her arms around his neck, and as he slid the ring onto her finger, she whispered:  
  
"Yes, Severus... YES!!!"  
  
THE END  
  
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: And they lived happily ever after...  
  
Thank you, thank you soooo much to everyone who has sent me reviews, you have all made me so happy! =D I can't thank you enough for being so kind to me, or for reading my story. I have loved writing it, and reading your stories too. You are all so amazing, keep up the great work! I love you. 


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